Supporting Pre-service Teachers in Critical and Antiracist Teaching: Complexities and Contradictions about Neutrality

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 9:45 am - Gold 1
  In Roundtable Session: Disrupting Neutrality, Designing Justice: Minority-Serving and Antiracist Innovations in Teacher Preparation

Abstract

There is a need to support students to understand current issues in the political and educational climate of injustice that affects them and their communities every day. Despite social justice commitments of teacher education programs that teaching is inherently political, pre-service teachers express a desire for neutrality and hold varying perspectives on engaging students around current issues. We investigate this tension by asking: What are the challenges of preparing pre-service teachers to engage PK-5 students in critical and antiracist discussions on political issues? and How do pre-service teachers think about neutrality? Drawing from a self-study of a critical and antiracist pedagogy course, analysis of course artifacts reveal complex, inconsistent, and contradictory ideas around neutrality. Reflections for teacher preparation are discussed.

Authors

• Noah Jefferson, Westfield State University

• Juliet Lee, Westfield State University