Race and Gender Don’t Matter? Teacher Leader Responses to Teacher-Student Microaggressions

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 8:00 am Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Simulations to Support Identity-Focused Noticing and Teacher Learning (Table 7)

Abstract

In this qualitative study we interview nine developing teacher leaders about their responses to a teacher-student microaggression scenario. Many of the TLs considered their own backgrounds (e.g., Queer, South East Asian) in giving the teacher in the scenario the benefit of the doubt. Through open and axial coding we identified four categories for response. In this paper we highlight results from one of the categories. Two codes emerged for responses to the question “Does your perception of, and reaction to, the event change based on the race and or gender of the teacher and student?” These two codes, Background Doesn’t Matter and Lived Experience, indicated racial identity is a complex and inconsistent aspect of the teacher leader responses.

Authors

• Talia LaTona-Tequida, San Diego State University

• Carlos Alejandro de Alba, San Diego State University

• Donna L. Ross, San Diego State University

• Susan D. Nickerson, San Diego State University