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New conceptual tools for be(com)ing antiracist (teacher) educators at PWIs

Caroline T. Clark (Department of Teaching and Learning, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA)
Rachel Skrlac Lo (Department of Education and Counseling, Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania, USA)
Ashley Boyd (Department of English, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA)
Michael Cook (Department of Curriculum and Teaching, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA)
Adam Crawley (Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA, and)
Ryan M. Rish (Department of Learning and Instruction, University at Buffalo (SUNY), Buffalo, New York, USA)

English Teaching: Practice & Critique

ISSN: 1175-8708

Article publication date: 31 August 2022

Issue publication date: 31 October 2022

187

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to share the development of new conceptual tools, which merge theories of critical whiteness studies (CWS), epistemic injustice and abolitionist teaching, applying them to the discourse of pre- and in-service teachers across the predominantly white institutions (PWIs) as they discuss antiracist teaching through the book Stamped and a series of online discussions.

Design/methodology/approach

This qualitative, collaborative practitioner inquiry derived data from video-recorded, online discussions, interviews and weekly research meetings. Critical discourse analysis revealed theoretical gaps and prompted the integration of additional theories, resulting in new conceptual tools, which are applied here to both “in the moment” exchanges between participants and individuals’ reflections in interviews.

Findings

Applying new conceptual tools to discussions of whiteness and race revealed how epistemic harm, microresistance and epistemic justice emerge in talk along with the importance of cultivating critical vigilance among antiracist educators.

Originality/value

This study elucidates how merging the conceptual frameworks of CWS, epistemic injustice and abolitionist teaching provides new tools for interrogating antiracism relative to whiteness in participants’ and researchers’ experiences. It challenges teacher educators, particularly at PWIs, to recognize how epistemic harm may be inflicted on students of color when centering whiteness in teacher education.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This work was funded, in part, by grants from the Michael V. Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning at The Ohio State University. The authors are grateful for this support.

Citation

Clark, C.T., Skrlac Lo, R., Boyd, A., Cook, M., Crawley, A. and Rish, R.M. (2022), "New conceptual tools for be(com)ing antiracist (teacher) educators at PWIs", English Teaching: Practice & Critique, Vol. 21 No. 4, pp. 364-378. https://doi.org/10.1108/ETPC-05-2022-0066

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited

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