Undergraduate Learning Assistants’ Conceptions of Racial Equity: Reproducing and Resisting Color-Evasiveness in Postsecondary STEM Classrooms

• In Event: Reimagining, Reframing and Resisting: Exploring Racial Inequity Within Our Institutions

Abstract

This study examines how undergraduate Learning Assistants (LAs) conceptualize race and equity in STEM classrooms. We conducted 27 interviews with LAs at a predominantly white institution, drawing on Bonilla-Silva’s (2021) color-evasive framework to explore how they make meaning of race in their roles as educators. All participants drew on the four color-evasive frames—naturalization, minimization, abstract liberalism, and cultural racism—relying on discourses of meritocracy and cultural neutrality to sidestep discussions of race. When structural racism was acknowledged, LAs often employed disconnected power analysis, using systemic language while distancing themselves from responsibility. These findings challenge the assumption that LAs inherently advance equity and highlight the need for sustained, justice-focused training that empowers LAs to enact just STEM learning environments.

Authors

• Regan Levy, Michigan State University

• Shahnaz Masani, Michigan State University