Meritocracy, Backlash, and Fatalism: Tempering Discourses in Teacher Diversity Efforts

• In Event: Current Issues in Teachers' Lives and Teacher Education

Abstract

Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 22 White leaders and educators in a rapidly diversifying urban district, we explore the disjuncture between stated support for teacher diversity efforts and the slow pace of change. We apply the lens of Foucault’s (1972, 1980) conception of power/knowledge to identify three “tempering discourses” that work to counter espoused support for teacher diversity: meritocracy, backlash, and fatalism. Meritocracy was most common across the sample, though backlash was more prominent among district and school leaders. We briefly discuss implications for policy and practice that might surface and disrupt these discourses.

Authors

• James Noonan, Salem State University

• Travis J. Bristol, University of California - Berkeley

• Makaela Jones, University of California - Berkeley