The Reproduction of White Dominant Culture: Instruction in a Predominantly White Independent Elementary School

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 19
  In Roundtable Session: Reproducing/Resisting Whiteness

Abstract

This phenomenological study explores what Black parents say about the curriculum in a predominantly White, independent elementary school. While most parents did not explicitly say they wanted the school to implement a multicultural or anti-racist curriculum, many valued attention to racial diversity. However, parents did not want their children to be hurt or marginalized by the curriculum, and there were tensions around topics such as slavery and immigration. Using critical race theory to center Black parents’ perceptions, I found that the curriculum served to reproduce White cultural dominance in the school, although the impact landed differently among parents based on their families’ identity as immigrant or non-immigrant. I offer implications for schools.

Author

• Jane Bolgatz, Fordham University