Teacher Resistance as Praxis: Interrupting Oppressive Contexts to Foster Thriving Students of Color

• In Event: Navigating and Interrupting Racialized Deficit Schooling: Teachers Fostering Third Spaces to Support Students of Color

Abstract

Objectives/ Purpose of the inquiry
This paper examined how teachers of color resisted oppressive schooling contexts
to foster thriving students. In particular, this paper considered how teachers mediated their vision to positively support students (Farkas, Johnson, Foleno, Duffet, & Foley, 1999) albeit the reproduction of deficit perceptions of students, families, and the overall community.

Theoretical Framework
I merge Stovall’s (2016) conceptualizations of racism and white supremacy along with Kohli and Pizarro’s (2016) community-oriented Teachers of Color. Stovall (2016) builds on Marable’s (1996) definition of racism as a system of power used to oppress people of color, and incorporates a class (Vaught, 2011), dimension that refers to a socioeconomic system of property. Stovall explores racism in combination with white supremacy, as “an ideology of hyper-individualistic, self-indulgent, neoliberal, free-market rationales that justify the exclusion of particular groups from resources necessary in creating thriving schools and communities” (p. 5). Kohli and Pizarro (2016) conceptualize community-oriented teachers of Color, “as those who feel a relationality and relational accountability to their communities” (p. 75).

These frames enable this paper to explore the materiality of racism and white supremacy that can manifest as school closures, high security school environments (Brady et al., 2007; Casella, 2001), and exclusionary discipline (Welch & Payne, 2010; Skiba et al., 2011) in high poverty majority Students of Color schools. A community-oriented teachers of Color frame, then allows this paper to consider how teachers of color can function as a bridge that connects schools with communities and supports student critical consciousness.

Methods and Data
Data derived from an ethnographic case study at an under-resourced high school in California. Methods included 1) semi-structured formal interviews with 10 teachers, 2) three on-the-spot informal focus groups during lunchtime, 3) field notes from observations (over 150 hours) conducted, and 3) artifacts that include posters. Data was analyzed using inductive and deductive coding. Data was triangulated and I conducted member checking as part of the analysis process.

Results
Three themes emerged as central. At the school, oppressive contexts emerged as mistrust between teachers and administrators. Specifically, teachers detailed that the administrators who were hired two weeks before the beginning of the school year, were given a directive by the district as being in charge of, “cleaning this place up.” As such, the administrators enacted policies and engaged in practices to control and punish students but also teachers. Second, teachers with a strong support from the community resisted the punitive and controlling contexts that emerged, and in turn became identified as troublemakers. Third, teachers took on leadership roles to build courses, and develop programs as a way to interrupt the oppressive contexts and enhance educational experiences for students.

Scientific or scholarly significance of the study or work
This study contributes to research that focuses on teachers of color as support to students of color in urban settings. This study highlights a school context wherein teachers of color made up the majority of teachers. This critical mass created a sense of solidarity to resist and transcend oppressive contexts to support students.

Author

• Yanira Madrigal-Garcia, University of California - Davis