Framing Race: The Racial Frames and Racialized Organizational Conditions of Two University-based Teacher Education Programs

• In Event: Spinning in Circles or Driving Change: The Possibilities and Constraints of Racialized Change and Learning

Abstract

Purpose

Racial equity is a central aim for many teacher education (TE) programs today, yet these programs often remain highly racialized and race-evasive (Carter-Andrews et al., 2019; Chang-Bacon, 2022). How programs frame race can influence their effectiveness in working towards racial equity (Irby & Clark, 2018). This paper investigates the racial frames used by two justice-focused university-based TE programs and the relationship between these frames and their enactment of racial equity. I ask: : (1) Which racial frames do the two programs employ to describe their missions? and (2) How are these frames reflected in their enactment of the programs’ missions?

Framework

This paper theoretically bridges: (1) framing theory and scholarship on racial frames (e.g., Bonilla-Silva, 2001) with (2) a theory of racialized organizations (Ray, 2019). Bridging framing theory with a theory of racialized organizations provides a framework through which to understand how organizations’ racial frames may both shape and work alongside organizational conditions to either disrupt or maintain the status quo (McCambly & Colyvas, 2022).

Analytical Approach

The study uses a multiple case study approach of two university-based programs committed to racial equity, pseudonymized as Alcott and Herbert. The data include semi-structured interviews with program leaders (n=11), teacher educators (n=13), and teacher candidates (n=29). The analysis involved: (1) developing an a priori coding framework based on theories of racial frames and racialized organizations, (2) additional coding for emergent codes, and (3) a final round of coding with the full codebook, followed by developing analytic matrices to synthesize findings (Miles et al., 2018).

Findings

I find evidence of four distinct racial frames by individuals across role types and programs: (1) A multicultural identity frame: commitment to identity-centered teaching without an explicit attention to race/racism; (2) An “urban” proxy frame (Leonardo & Hunter, 2007): Use of racially-coded language of multiculturalism and liberalism (Bonilla-Silva, 2004) to describe school communities without addressing race/racism.; (3) A disconnected power-analysis frame (Jayakumar & Adamian, 2016): intellectual understandings of racism decoupled from practice; (4) An anti-racist power-analysis frame (Warikoo & Novais, 2015): Seeing racial inequity as systematic and understanding one's role in combating racist systems.

The first three frames are color-evasive (Bonilla-Silva, 2006), while the fourth is race-conscious. Alcott, an elite private university program, predominantly used race-evasive frames, whereas Herbert, a public flagship university program, significantly used the anti-racist power-analysis frame. Consistent with previous scholarship (e.g., McCambly & Colyvas, 2023), reliance on color-evasive frames was associated with the racialized decoupling of organizational racial equity missions from practice (Ray, 2019). These patterns were also shaped by the organizational conditions within each program. Organizational conditions influenced these patterns. For example, Alcott had a strong racialized organizational hierarchy, perpetuating a notion of racialized expertise (Portocarrero, 2023), whereas Herbert was more racially diverse and embraced multiple ways of knowing across organizational levels.

Significance

As TE programs increasingly commit to racial equity, understanding barriers to achieving these commitments is crucial. The findings suggest that both the rhetorical framing of race/racism and the material organizational conditions within programs impact their ability to effect racial change.

Author

• Maya Kaul, University of Pennsylvania