“I Am Part of Censoring”: Discussing Classroom Teachers’ Experiences With Political Tensions Using Critical Narrative

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 9:00 am Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Antiracist Education, Policies, and Decolonization (Table 6)

Abstract

Throughout history, colonial views and ideas have been promoted in the United States and are becoming more explicit lately as they are expressed in both political discourse and through policies. These reactionary discourses have turned into laws being passed that now affect teachers nationwide. To ascertain how reactionary discourses are impacting educators, this paper utilizes critical narrative inquiry to answer the research question “How are secondary English teachers in Texas navigating the tensions created by reactionary education reform?” To examine how educators are navigating the tensions created, one interview forms the focus of this article as I examine the transcript through a decolonial lens, revealing themes connected with coloniality such as dehumanization, coloniality of power, and affect coloniality.

Author

• Erin R. Boiles, Texas Tech University