Measuring Whiteness-Informed Practices in K-12 Classrooms: Validation of the Classroom Whiteness Scale (ClaWS) Using Rasch Partial Credit Modeling

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Thursday 4:15pm
  In Poster Session: Critical Examination of Race, Ethnicity, Class, and Gender Poster Session

Abstract

This study introduces and validates the Classroom Whiteness Scale (ClaWS), a 21-item instrument designed to measure in-service teachers’ salience of and engagement in whiteness-informed instructional practices. Grounded in Critical Whiteness Studies and aligned with QuantCrit principles, ClaWS operationalizes constructs such as white standardization, colorblind racial ideology, and white saviorism. Rasch Partial Credit Modeling was used to assess the scale’s psychometric properties with a national sample of K–12 teachers (N = 216). Results demonstrated strong item reliability and structural validity, with evidence of meaningful differential item functioning across race, political affiliation, and school context. This study offers ClaWS as a critical tool for teacher reflection, professional development, and empirical inquiry aimed at disrupting racial inequities in classroom practice.

Author

• Jaylene Patterson, University of Kentucky