Examining faculty race-consciousness: Findings and Implications for Practice

• In Event: Unveiling Campus Racial Realities: Faculty and Staff Voices from National Assessment of Collegiate Campus Climate Survey

Abstract

This study sought to understand the state of ‘race-consciousness’ among faculty with two research questions: 1) What is the general ‘state’ of racial-noticing among faculty?, and 2) are there differences in racial-noticing demonstrated by faculty across different racial groups?

Faculty are central to determining classroom content, policies, structures, and grading practices, and although they are seldom trained to realize this, these choices have racialized implications (Benismon, 2012; Dowd & Bensimon, 2012; McNair et al, 2020). Therefore, the ways that they engage in (or don’t engage in) race-consciousness should be examined to help determine how prepared faculty are to address systemic racial inequities produced by their practices. Existing research has also demonstrated that faculty from minoritized racial groups are more likely to engage in race-conscious classroom practices, (Smith et al, 2000; Umbach, 2006), prompting the second research question.
To provide a framework for understanding ‘race-consciousness’, this study draws on Shah and Coles’ concept of ‘racial noticing’ or the “the process of attending to, interpreting, and formulating responses to racial phenomena in learning settings” (2020, p. 586). While Shah and Cole have researched racial noticing in K-12 teachers, this study is the first, to our knowledge, to apply this framework as a contribution to higher education literature on faculty and faculty development.
Drawing on data from the National Assessment of Collegiate Campus Climate (NACCC) faculty survey, a national survey of faculty that includes six content areas essential to understanding racial climate on college campuses, the study found the following: The average faculty respondent indicated somewhat agreeing to attending to racial phenomena like noticing the racial/ethnic composition of their class and thinking about how their students’ racial/ethnic backgrounds impact classroom experiences. In regards to interpreting racial phenomena, the average faculty respondent specified that they see interpersonal forms of racism like microaggressions as problematic and needing attention but, in comparison, saw structural forms of racial phenomena, like racial inequities produced in classroom policies, practices, and structures, as a less pressing problem. In a continuation of these findings, the average faculty demonstrated a greater tendency to respond to interpersonal forms of racial phenomena and a smaller likelihood of addressing structural racial phenomena in their classrooms.
By racial/ethnic group, Asian faculty’s responses indicated less racial-noticing than the average. The average response was informed by a greater proportion of white faculty respondents, and, generally, Latine faculty’s responses often fell near the average white response as well. Black faculty and faculty reporting two or more races responded with greater than average racial-noticing.
The survey responses also indicate that, on average, faculty discuss how race and racism affect students with colleagues only a few times a year, and almost never talk about ways to avoid racially unequal outcomes for students.
These findings reveal new questions to explore in future research regarding racialized differences in faculty racial-noticing and also indicate that institutions of higher education should create more opportunities for faculty to talk about race and racism and classroom practices that perpetuate and mitigate racism.

Authors

• Debbie Hanson, University of Southern California

• Jihye Kwon, University of Southern California

• Esmeralda A. Hernandez-Hamed, University of Southern California