Novice Teacher Engagement With District Racial Frames: Accounting for Teacher Identity, Preparation, and Professional Context

• In Event: Why Can't We Talk About Race? Challenging the Race-Evasive Culture of Teacher Education and Teaching

Abstract

While critical race learning expands in teacher education, research gaps remain around how teachers’ preparational learnings are co-formed by their professional context once in-service. This paper analyzes novice teacher interviews to explore how sociopolitical conditions shape white teachers’ racial meaning-making and (in)action for justice. First, I typologize teachers engagement with district racial frames within one district as district-mirror, district-plus, and district-pusher. Next, I juxtapose a participant in a different, more race-conscious district to raise questions about the dynamic relationship of local district and community context as they intersect with personal experiences and preparational training. This paper calls for a more contextualized and nuanced analysis from researchers, teacher educators, and leadership of novice teachers.

Author

• Joy Esboldt, University of California - Berkeley