Whiteness in the Stories Teachers Tell: An Analysis of Pre-Service Teachers’ Motivations

• In Event: Racial Identity & Teacher Education: Critical Conversations about Privilege and Power

Abstract

Whiteness functions as an insidious system of oppression across different institutions in education. The following study explores how preconceived notions of Whiteness manifest in Pre-Service Teachers’ (PSTs) experiences and motivations to become a teacher. This study utilized themes from Critical Whiteness Studies to analyze 58 life story interviews of PSTs. Our findings suggest that participants' carried mixed relationships to Whiteness where some reproduced beliefs associated with a racial contract while others viewed teaching as a career to challenge the status quo. Additionally, we found that PSTs’ narratives ascribed to an “epistemology of ignorance” where race-evasion and a belief in meritocracy were present. These findings carry implications to analyze teacher motivation and teacher education programs by challenging Whiteness in education.

Authors

• Francisco Villa, Temple University

• MG Hodge, Temple University

• Timothy Patterson, Temple University

• Abby Reisman, University of Pennsylvania