Uncomfortable Truths: Exploring Pushback to Racial Equity in a Teacher Education Program

• In Event: Radical Imagination and Collective Disruption: Reimagining Teacher Education through Community Partnerships

Abstract

Many teacher preparation programs have revised missions and curriculum to align with social justice-oriented outcomes. This paper addresses teacher candidates’ experiences in a College of Education that has taken such actions. Data sources include four years of exit survey data and seven years data from a Common Metrics survey from a broader case study at a PWI in the Midwest. Goodwin’s (2010) five knowledge domains for teaching (personal, contextual, pedagogical, sociological, and social) through Critical Race Theory were applied to open-ended responses as an analytical focus to understand candidates’ experiences. Results indicate tensions such as a threshold for racial content and hierarchical views of content and pedagogy. Implications for teacher education and the complexities of pursuing justice-oriented preparation are discussed.

Authors

• Bernadette Castillo, University of Houston

• Beth Beschorner, Minnesota State University - Mankato

• David Kimori, Minnesota State University - Mankato