Harm, Silence, and Hesitancy: Tensions for Novice Teachers Learning to Lead Virtual Discussions About Identity

• In Event: Learning Discussion Facilitation Online: Foregrounding Care and Equity in Online Practice-Based Teacher Education Courses

Abstract

Objectives
To meet the needs of K-12 students as they navigate and resist inequitable social systems, novice teachers must be prepared to facilitate classroom discussions about race, gender, privilege, and power (Author, 2016; Pace, 2019; Parker, 2006). However, facilitating such discussions is complex work (Author, 2016; Beck, 2019), especially for novice teachers (Hess, 2003; Pace, 2019; Woolley, 2011) and especially during a global pandemic when all instruction has moved online. Given these challenges, it is imperative that teacher educators (TEs) understand what teacher candidates (TCs) find particularly challenging. To this end, we asked: What challenges emerged for secondary TCs learning to teach online as they prepared to facilitate discussions about race and gender with students?

Theoretical Framework
We situate this analysis within a frame of critical democratic education (CDE). CDE teachers support students to uncover and critique social inequities, in service of “all humans hav[ing] equal and real opportunities to be agents of social transformation” (Sant, 2019, p. 674). While discussions are a central pedagogy of CDE (Boler & Zembylas, 2016; Carlson & Apple, 1998), they can be risky as students can experience marginalization and harm (Boler, 2004; Jones, 2004; Welton et al., 2015), or discomfort when critically examining their beliefs (Zaliwska & Boler, 2019; Zembylas, 2015). CDE provides a lens to examine TCs challenges in navigating classroom discussions about race and gender.

Methods and Data
This is a qualitative case study of a unit on facilitating text-based discussions about race and gender in a secondary ELA methods course. The study utilizes the following data sources: methods course videos (~2.75 hours), TE interviews (N=5), and TC focus groups (N=3). Data were coded using constructs from our theoretical framework.

Results
Analyses showed that TCs’ desire to protect students from harm often reduces their willingness to engage students in sensemaking around topics related to identity. For example, in one class the TE explained that such discussions are challenging, as teachers must balance two demands, “[student] learning [through sensemaking], and our desire to create spaces where students do not get harmed.” The TE showed a video of a discussion about a poem written by a trans poet of color that explicitly dealt with racial and gender identity. However, rather than seeing a challenging but important pedagogical moment, some TCs concluded that such discussions should be avoided. One TC remarked, “Gender identity [is not] something that people should guess and get wrong about...it’s something that should be teacher-led, rather than asking students to interpret.” Another TC agreed, “We didn't think it was a conversation that should be student-led… it's dangerous to do that with topics around identity.” Similar tensions appear throughout the data, illustrating that TCs may fear discussions about identity cause more harm than good.

Significance
This work reveals troubling TC hesitancy to facilitate student discourse on topics about identity. Without intervention, this hesitancy could result in silencing student discourse around important issues. This research has implications for TEs and researchers interested in interrupting TC’s hesitations to facilitate discussions about identity.

Authors

• Elizabeth Gotwalt, University of Pennsylvania

• Amy Guillotte, University of Pennsylvania

• Sarah Schneider Kavanagh, University of Pennsylvania