Dominant Racial Ideologies in Contemporary Context: Colorblind Consciousness, White Racial Divides, and Divergent Educational Practices

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 10:50 am Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: The Politics of Teacher Pedagogy: Preparation, Place, and Social Change (Table 7)

Abstract

This study explores how colorblind ideologies have been impacted by a highly racialized contemporary landscape in the United States and considers the implications of ideological change for the pursuit of racial justice within and beyond education. Data collection involved a series of three in-depth, life-history interviews with 25 strategically sampled, white education stakeholders (75 interviews in total). Interviews focused on participants’ experiences related to race and education throughout their lives, as well as how recent events have impacted their understandings of race and their educational practices. Findings identify that colorblind ideologies have been dislodged, while also illuminating how white racial ideologies currently exist along an ideological spectrum that directly corresponds with widely varied approaches to addressing racism in K-12 settings.

Author

• Cami Touloukian, Teachers College, Columbia University