“It’s Just Skin Color with a Tiny Disadvantage:" Understanding How Children of Color Discuss Race

• In Event: “No Justice, No Peace”: A Racial Reckoning for Science Education

Abstract

Abstract: This paper argues the importance of centering the racial identities of children of Color throughout science curricula. Despite the myriad research demanding racially and culturally affirming learning experiences for children of Color, society constantly reminds us of this ongoing need. Employing critical ethnography, this case study centers the voices of 16 children of Color engaging in a science curriculum designed to both elicit and support the construction of their multiple identities (i.e., racial, science, student identities). Artifacts included individual student and teacher interviews, document analysis of student work and science curricula, and video classroom observations. Despite engaging in the racialized act of schooling, experiencing racist incidents within the classroom, the deficit-based expectations of student learning espoused by the curricula, and the lack of racially diverse images of scientists depicted in media resources, findings suggest that students of Color adopt and maintain color-evasive racial identities early in their academic careers. Using critical race theory as the lens to unpack the nuances of these identities, this paper argues that despite the adoption of color-evasive narratives in elementary grades, children of Color also notice the centrality of racism within the broader school context. ​​While they have yet to connect this racism to their science learning, they will eventually begin to recognize the intersectionality and shortcomings associated with being educated within a race-evasive system.

Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to unpack the ways in which elementary children of Color discuss their racial and science identities within an urban school context.

Methods: This paper is part of a larger ethnographic study designed to understand the identity work of elementary students of Color within the science classroom and the role of the teacher’s positionality and instructional choices on said identity work (Author, 2020). Unpacking one’s science identity construction requires an acknowledgment of the racialized underpinnings of both school and science more broadly (Mutegi, 2013).

Results: Teachers adopt semantic discourse to describe their students (Author, 2022). This discourse often positions Black children as incapable of being able to “handle” science instruction, as it involves handling materials that could be dangerous if mishandled. In one such example, Anna reflects on her Black identity:
Researcher: What does being Black mean to you?
Anna: I don’t really—nothing really. Just skin color. It’s a tiny bit of a disadvantage, but that’s it.
Researcher.: And can you say more about that?
Anna: Like some people judge you because of that [skin color]. And say you can’t do other stuff

Significance: While not comprehensive of all nuances of schooling, critical race theory in science education offers a way for educators to acknowledge and uplift the myriad racial identities of children within their classrooms. Racial identity is important because science is ubiquitous; it is a human endeavor that we all partake in. Historically, it has been used as a tool to justify and maintain white supremacy. While teachers continue to educate children of Color within a race-evasive system, harm is perpetuated as they enter a society that does not exist.

Author

• Terrance Burgess, Michigan State University