Beyond the Demographics: Supporting Teachers of Color Through Critical Race Professional Development

• In Event: Centering the Professional Development Needs of Pre- and In-Service Social Justice Educators of Color

Abstract

Objective
Efforts to recruit teachers of color are rarely aligned with paradigm shifts to effectively train and support their specific needs. In teacher education programs, the curriculum tends to normalize whiteness, neglecting the history, experiences and perspectives of teachers of color (Gorski, 2009, Montecitos, 2004). In the field, teachers of color are equally marginalized. Novice teachers of color reported a lack of support negotiating sociocultural issues with little regard to their racial identity (Achinstein & Aguirre, 2008) and face many burdens such as repeatedly serving as the expert or in stereotypically defined roles (Makobela & Madson, 2007). But what could happen if critical teachers of color were given professional development that built upon their positionality, perspectives and social justice goals? How might leadership training that strengthens a critical racial analysis impact the professional experiences of teachers of color and the schools in which they work? In this paper, I discuss a model of professional development (PD) for teachers of color that centers their histories, perspectives and needs.

Theoretical Framework & Methods
Critical Race Theory (CRT) is a lens often used in macro level educational research to identify structural or institutional racism (Solorzano, 1997). It is rarely introduced to teachers, but has tremendous implications for teachers of color and their ability to identify and challenge racial injustice in schools. Documented through ethnographic observations, qualitative questionnaires, surveys, digital narratives and interviews with 348 justice oriented teachers of color who work in urban schools, this paper highlights a model of critical race professional development (CRPD) designed to provide participants with a critical race analysis and its usefulness in racial justice efforts in K-12 school contexts.

Results & Significance
In direct contrast to their teacher preparation or traditional professional development, participants of the CRPD are 1) engaged in a critical, structural and racial analysis of educational inequity from an interdisciplinary lens, while they are simultaneously 2) exposed to critical race theory and praxis led by racial minority experts. Within the CRPD, teachers of color are also 3) framed as agents of change within a broader community, and 4) trained to facilitate data driven interventions at their school sites. Whether they want to transform their own classroom and curriculum or the broader school culture, collectively, these elements reframe teachers of color as racial justice leaders within communities of color.

In the data, it emerged that the CRPD resulted in a shift in the self-efficacy of teachers of color as change agents in schools. After the CRPD, participants have engaged in many reforms at their school sites such as designing a social justice emphasis in their school, developing critical inquiry groups with other local teachers, and challenging deficit thinking at staff developments. This model has many implications for teacher preparation and professional development, as well as the leadership potential for critical teachers of color in urban schools.

Authors

• Rita Kohli, University of California - Riverside

• Josephine Pham, University of California - Los Angeles