Racial Attitudes of White Pre-K–12 Educators

• In Event: Fighting Whiteness: Race and Racism in Teaching and Teacher Education

Abstract

As the racial/ethnic makeup of the US student population becomes increasingly diverse, the teaching force has remained primarily White (US Department of Education, 2016). With this mismatch in the racial/ethnic backgrounds of students and teachers, it is important to understand the racial attitudes of White educators and how those attitudes differ from those held by their students from minoritized backgrounds and their families. In this study, we use data from the nationally representative General Social Survey (GSS) to examine the racial beliefs, stereotypes, and affective orientations toward minoritized groups held by White preK-12 educators. Compared to minoritized non-educators, White educators are less supportive of government equalizing efforts, hold more negative racial stereotypes, and express more social distance from minoritized groups.

Authors

• David Quinn, University of Southern California

• Ashley Stewart, University of Southern California