Ever-Present Whiteness and Coded Christianity: Reexamining and Reimagining Social Studies Teacher Education

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 5:25 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: (Mis)Recognizing Value in Diverse Identities (Table 3)

Abstract

Teacher education programs need to consider how white supremacy and Christian hegemony reinforce each other. This study examines how whiteness and Christianity are centered in a social studies teacher education program grounded in a theoretical framework of white normativity and Christian hegemony. Using study used document analysis to understand how whiteness and Christianity were centered in syllabi of ten teacher education courses and engaged in collaborative self study reflecting on how whiteness and Christianity could be dencentered in the courses they taught. The findings of this research have implications for pedagogical practice and curriculum design within teacher education programs, prompting educators to critically examine their own syllabi and instructional practices, and challenging the perpetuation of white supremacy and Christian hegemony.

Authors

• Emma Eckstein Nicosia, University of Minnesota

• Ngan Nguyen, University of Minnesota

• Jehanne Beaton, University of Minnesota