Preservice Teachers Conceptualization of Racial and Religious In/Justice in Schools

• In Event: Epistemic Disruptions and Justice-Oriented Dialogues in Teacher Education

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to explore preservice teachers’ conceptualization of racial and religious in/justice in schools, asking 1) How do preservice teachers conceptualize the role of their own racial and religious self-identity in schools?, 2) How do preservice teachers perceive racial and religious in/justice in schools? and 3) How do preservice teachers conflate racial and religious in/justice? 21 preservice teachers participated in this study and classroom assignments about racial and religious self-identity and composite case studies that centered on racial and religious in/justice were utilized to collect data. Utilizing the theoretical framework of FaithCrit, findings reveal that preservice teachers varied in their ability to recognize the complex intersectionality or racial and religious in/justice and struggled with bridging how their own personal belief systems influence their ability to take multiple perspectives when analyzing situational acts of discrimination.

Author

• Larissa Malone, University of North Carolina Wilmington