What We Are Fighting For

• In Event: Dreaming Out Loud: Critical Race Theory and Social Studies Futures

Abstract

Objectives
This presentation features authors who explore how social studies educators and scholars are applying CRT in their PK-12 and teacher preparation classrooms. From early childhood contexts to high school world history classrooms to elementary social studies methods courses, these authors consider the possibilities afforded by critical race pedagogies ranging from counterstorytelling to global citizenship education to dis/ability critical race theory.
Theoretical framework
Bell (1992), Delgado (1989), and many other critical race theorists have argued that “stories can shatter complacency and challenge the status quo” (Delgado, 1989, p. 2414). However, as stories are also used to maintain the status quo, critical race theorists distinguish stories told by those outside of the dominant group as counterstories. Counterstories, Delgado (1989) argued, could be used as a means of psychic self-preservation as well as a means of lessening one’s own subordination, which may ultimately lead to healing, liberation, mental health, and solidarity. Counterstories are a common thread across the work of the authors in this group.
Methods of inquiry and data sources
The authors in this presentation engage in a range of qualitative methods of inquiry, from autoethnography to case study to video-cued ethnography. While the methods and contexts are distinct (early childhood centers in Texas, bi-coastal high school classrooms, a predominantly white teacher preparation program in the Northeast), each author was immersed in their respective setting over the course of an entire semester or academic year and engaged in robust data collection and analysis.
Substantiated conclusions
The authors conclude that racial education for young children and young people is completely inadequate and fails to evolve to represent the diverse experiences of people of Color and help children make sense of their racialized experiences. Moreover, early childcare centers and schools continue to be spaces where racially ‘othered’ bodies are positioned as morally and psychologically deficient.
Scholarly significance
Yet, the authors demonstrated that there are dedicated educators willing to put it all on the line to radically reimagine the social studies curriculum and school spaces to have the necessary, messy, difficult, and healing conversations with students about race and racism. Moreover, grounding the curriculum in CRT tenets has the potential to humanize social studies and make it relevant to students' lives.

Authors

• Tadashi Dozono, California State University - Channel Islands

• Jesus Tirado, Auburn University

• Timothy Monreal, University at Buffalo - SUNY

• Tran Templeton, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Margaret Frances Harvey, University of North Texas

• Anna Falkner, The University of Memphis