Embedding Decolonial Thinking and Critical Consciousness in Digital Education: The Role of Ethnically Diverse Graduate Assistants

• In Event: Inclusive, Equitable and Transformative Approaches to Education

Proposal

Relevance, Purposes, and Central Problems
The growing recognition of Critical Consciousness (CC) (Crabtree & Stephan, 2023) and decolonial thinking in teacher education (Jackson et al., 2021) has reshaped how educators address power dynamics and social justice, particularly in the digital era, where global interconnectedness amplifies discussions of equity. Despite this, many teacher education programs struggle to prepare preservice teachers (PSTs) fully. Graduate assistants (GAs), often ethnically diverse, play a key role in embedding decolonial thinking into their teaching.
In this digitally connected landscape, GAs must navigate physical and digital classrooms, where technology fosters CC and antiracism. Digital tools allow for greater access to diverse voices, but also present challenges by perpetuating systemic biases. This study explores how GAs leverage their positionality to help White PSTs engage with social justice and colonial legacies while creating inclusive digital spaces that promote reflection and antiracist dialogue. The research questions guiding this study are:
1. How do ethnically diverse GAs navigate the challenges of integrating decolonial thinking when teaching White PSTs in a digitally connected educational landscape?
2. What specific pedagogical strategies do GAs employ to cultivate critical consciousness in White PSTs, and how do digital tools assist or hinder these efforts?

Theoretical Framing
This paper draws on CC and decolonial thinking to explore the self-reflection and pedagogical decision-making of GAs in teaching PSTs. These frameworks are essential for addressing power dynamics and systemic oppression, especially within the increasingly digitalized and globalized educational landscape.
CC, as conceptualized in this study, builds on the foundational ideas of Paulo Freire but extends to include five key tenets from our theoretical framework: (1) Praxis (Reflection and Action), (2) Concept of Individuality, (3) Dialogue, (4) Collective Action/Collaboration, and (5) Interconnectedness of Relations. These tenets guide how educators critically engage with the production of knowledge and influence pedagogical research and curriculum design. In the digital age, where online spaces are increasingly shaping educational practices, these tenets are vital for understanding how digital tools can either reinforce existing inequities or challenge oppressive structures (Freire, 2017).
Decolonial thinking complements CC by actively challenging Eurocentric knowledge systems and promoting the inclusion of non-Western voices in education. In today’s digitally connected world, the use of digital tools plays a crucial role in this effort. On the one hand, these tools can serve to reproduce colonial hierarchies by perpetuating systemic biases embedded in algorithms and digital platforms. On the other hand, they offer ethnically diverse GAs means to transform educational spaces by using technology to amplify marginalized perspectives and promote global solidarity (Gaztambide-Fernández, 2012).
The integration of CC and decolonial thinking offers a comprehensive framework for transformative pedagogy. By linking these frameworks, educators can confront dominant narratives and use digital technologies to create more inclusive, equitable educational spaces. This combination empowers educators and PSTs to reimagine education in a digital society that is more just, inclusive, and responsive to historical legacies of oppression (Freire, 2017).

Mode of Inquiry
In this qualitative study, we, as researchers and South Asian Pakistani Ph.D. candidates and GAs within two Schools of Education, acknowledge our positionalities. Our unique experiences, cultural perspectives, and identities shape our approach to research. Recognizing our positionalities is essential as we explore how other ethnically diverse GAs integrate decolonial thinking to foster CC in their PSTs.
We conducted semi-structured interviews with four GAs from two public universities in the US Midwest, all of whom have expertise in embedding decolonial thinking into their teaching practices. The participants, like us, are Ph.D. candidates and include one white and three teachers of color, each with experience teaching foundational courses to PSTs. Our interview questions were designed to investigate the pedagogical strategies these GAs use to make antiracism visible and the challenges they face in fostering self-reflection on race, both for themselves and their students.
Findings
In addition to the interviews, the findings revealed how digital platforms—such as Zoom, Jamboard, and multimedia resources—played a significant role in the GAs’ teaching. For example, Zoom facilitated interactive discussions, allowing PSTs to engage with race and decolonial thinking in real-time, while Jamboard was used to collaboratively reflect on systemic inequities. However, these tools also introduced challenges. For instance, systemic biases embedded in digital algorithms and platform accessibility were found to reinforce inequities, especially for students with limited digital access.
Digital tools emerged as a key theme, offering opportunities to enhance engagement through interactive platforms while also posing challenges by perpetuating inequities such as unequal participation and algorithmic biases. Although not the original focus, the digital context became integral to understanding how GAs engaged PSTs with race and decolonial thinking.
Using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-step thematic analysis, we identified patterns and themes rooted in the five tenets of CC from our theoretical framework. Specifically, our findings show how digital spaces can both facilitate antiracist education by promoting dialogue and collaboration and hinder it by reinforcing digital divides and unconscious biases. This reflects a balance between the potential for justice-centered pedagogy in digital spaces and the need to critically interrogate the tools used to foster CC.

Scholarly Contribution
This study emphasizes the importance of CC and decolonial thinking in navigating societal complexities and promoting cultural and historical transformation in education. By integrating these frameworks, teacher educators can foster problem-posing education, raise awareness of systemic inequities, and cultivate action-oriented pedagogies that challenge dominant narratives.
A key contribution of this study lies in its exploration of how decolonial thinking and CC are applied in digital environments, offering novel insights into how digital platforms impact antiracist education in culturally diverse classrooms. In today’s digitally connected world, these approaches are especially relevant, as they offer tools not only to engage with and dismantle oppressive structures but also to reimagine educational spaces in ways that amplify marginalized voices and foster global solidarity. This study adds to the existing literature by demonstrating how ethnically diverse GAs embed decolonial thinking into their teaching practices within digital educational systems, where technology can either facilitate or hinder efforts toward equitable, humanizing education.

Authors

• Tahreem Fatima, Miami University (Ohio)

• Moaaz Hamid, Indiana University - Bloomington