Professional Teacher Collapse: Exploring the Ebb and Flow of White Teacher Empathy With Students of Color (Poster 49)

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Wednesday 4:20 p.m.
  In Poster Session: Professional Teacher Collapse: Exploring the Ebb and Flow of White Teacher Empathy With Students of Color

Abstract

This paper explores one teacher's journey around teacher empathy over 6 years. Jones (pseudonym) is a white teacher working in an Indigenous school who experiences significant changes in their techer emapthy (Warren, 2014) towards their Indigenous students. Over time, Jones develops tremendous empathy towards the students in their rural community school. However, several factors including changes from the COVID 19 pandemic and shifts in professional compensation lead Jones away from emapthy and towards apathy for their students. In this qualitative study across 6 years, we explore beginning trends and explanations from Jones as to the reasons behind their shifting empathy towards students.

Authors

• Colby Tofel-Grehl, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Tyler Hansen, Utah State University

• Melissa S. Barker, Utah State University