Racializing Self and Others: Exploring Positionality and Critical Reflection in Teacher Education

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: Examining Whiteness and Its Consequences

Abstract

This qualitative case study examined twenty-four exit-credential papers from a teacher preparation program to explore how multiple-subject pre-service teachers discussed self-examination and racial positionality in relation to teaching for social justice. Framed by a critical whiteness perspective and using narrative analysis, the pre-service teachers revealed that out of the cohort of twenty-four, only ten identify their race in their papers. Although the remaining fourteen PSTs did not explicitly state their racial identities, they alluded to their positionality through differentiating from the racial identity of others. This study has implications for teacher preparation programs as important arenas for teachers to commit to developing a consciousness of their social positionality and bring a critical lens to structures of power.

Author

• Kim Vachon, University of California - Santa Cruz