Preparing Culturally Responsive Teachers to Address Whiteness in the Classroom

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Five
  In Roundtable Session: Dynamics Between Whiteness and Systemic Oppression in Teaching and Learning (Table 9)

Abstract

In this qualitative case-study, teachers contend with how their positionality plays a role in providing culturally relevant instruction to the specific identities of the students in their classrooms. Teacher candidates from three social justice-oriented teacher education programs are interviewed regarding their perspectives on and engagement with issues of race, racism and equity over the course of their preparation. The main finding suggests that when asked about how they approached issues of race, teacher candidates conflated race with cultural relevance, associating this instructional approach with students of color but not with white students. This paper recommends challenging hegemonic white disciplinary knowledge as a way to be “relevant” for all students in a justice-oriented classroom.

Author

• Kim Vachon, University of California - Santa Cruz
  Presenting Author