Navigational Capital and Critical Race Teacher Mentorship: Duo-Ethnographies of Teacher Mentors

• In Event: No Matter How Bleak: Teachers Learning and Living a Justice Praxis

Abstract

Objectives & Research Question
The saying, “be the person you needed when you were younger,” is often referenced when describing the important role adults have in young people's lives. This study reimagines the quote to emphasize being “the teacher/mentor you needed when you were becoming a teacher.” For many teachers, once you clear your credential, you may never stay connected to the program or people that supported your path. This paper accounts for two alumni, turned teacher/mentors, participating in a program connecting alumni with current teacher candidates. The research questions included: 1) What role does teacher mentoring play for current teacher candidates? 2) What learning and development support veteran classroom teachers? and 3) How do racially-just teachers mentor their student-teachers to embody social justice?

Theory
When pursuing our credential and master's degrees, Critical Race Theory was a vital component in our development. We take up Yosso’s (2002) “Community Cultural Wealth” framework, specifically “navigational capital” and apply it to our current role as teacher-mentors. Yosso and Burciaga (2016) argue for a praxis that is theoretically and historically grounded. They write: “navigational capital refers to skills in maneuvering through social institutions. Historically, this implies the ability to maneuver through institutions not created with Communities of Color in mind” (p. 2). We apply “navigational capital” to the often messy, challenging, and confusing realm of being an early career teacher and utilize our experiences with our teacher of Color mentees to enact a “critical race teacher mentorship.”

Methods/Sources
Using duoethnography and pláticas (Fierros & Delgado Bernal, 2016; Delgado Bernal et al., 2023) our paper analyzes a year-long partnership with several early career teachers of Color in Los Angeles. Data included teacher-mentor/mentee communications, classroom observations, and reflective journaling. The teacher/mentors included one high school Spanish teacher and one high school English teacher. Each teacher/mentor was connected to a smaller cohort of 3-4 early career teachers of Color. Data were coded using descriptive analysis (Saldaña, 2013) to identify themes shaping our interpretation of “navigational capital.”

Findings
Findings from our study suggest the importance of having and being the teacher/mentor you always needed. Furthermore, “navigational capital” involves sharing with teacher candidates the politics of school sites, especially for newer teachers, the necessity for carving out various forms of self and collective care and being in community with like-minded teachers, and maneuvering through the credentialing process and subsequent clearing of your credential.

Significance
Our study contributes to the field of teacher education by demonstrating the importance of teacher mentorship for incoming teacher candidates of Color that are politically, pedagogically, and relationally aligned. Embodying and practicing a “critical race teacher mentorship” involves dedication to the craft of teaching, commitment to social justice, and an understanding of the material and emotional needs of teacher candidates of Color. When teacher mentors and their mentees are in alignment, they give each other the community support and care necessary for the survival and thriving of justice-centered educators.

Authors

• Marlene Espinoza, Environmental Charter High School - Gardena

• Jose Lopez, Environmental Charter High School - Gardena