Educators Reimagining Policy: Policy Recommendations to Move Toward an Antiracist Education

• In Event: From Exploring Antiracist Praxis to Reimagine Education Policy: Educators' Calls for Structural Change

Abstract

Oftentimes, educators find themselves left out of education policy discussions and obligated to enforce policies that sometimes clash with their own pedagogies. Their struggle with policies that do not reflect their values and beliefs hinder their work to enact antiracist strategies that they know work best for their students. This paper explores educators’ experience with education policy, as they work to implement the culturally relevant and antiracist education strategies they learned at RESI in their classrooms. It centers the voices and expertise of educators and lays out the recommendations that these educators have for education policy to move towards an antiracist education for all students. This work contributes to the existing literature by highlighting the expertise and input of educators, those that have attended an antiracist professional development institute, regarding policies that will foster the development of culturally responsive and antiracist education.

We conducted surveys with over 80 educators that have participated in the Reimagining Education Summer Institute or similar professional development programs in the past prior to conducting our one-on-one in-depth interviews. For the study and analysis, we utilized critical race theory to critique existing policies through and their disparate racial impacts. The focus on educators’ policy suggestions that would support antiracist education for all students.

Our findings suggest that many educators yearn to be heard by policymakers regarding education policy at the local, state, and federal levels. There were many suggestions to improve hiring practices at all levels and to recruit and hire more teachers of colors. Many educators also emphasized the prevalence of policies like standardized testing and rigid curricula that are oppressive, fail to be culturally relevant, and hinder antiracist pedagogies. Instead, they called for alternative ways to assess students, culturally relevant curriculum, and ethnic studies in schools. They asked for more funding and resources to support these policies that support antiracist education. Additionally, many educators implored for antiracist and culturally competent professional development to be mandatory for all teachers because, for them, all students need a culturally relevant and antiracist education. Finally, they asked for policymakers to listen to educators and students because they know what they need best.

Authors

• Andrea Kim, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Linda Moftah, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Thuy Vi Nguyen, Teachers College, Columbia University