“Color Does Not Equal Consciousness”: Educators of Color Learning to Enact a Sociopolitical Consciousness

Abstract

This study is based on an initiative for increasing college and career readiness for Black and Latino male high school students in New York City. From data that include 58 total hours of participant observations from 24 educators of color, written documentation from culturally relevant education–professional development (CRE-PD) activities, and transcripts of six group interviews, we examine these educators’ work to further their own sociopolitical consciousness in relation to increasing Black and Latino male students’ college and career readiness. We explore how secondary educators of color utilize pedagogical tools and practices in attempting to support their Black and Latino male students’ navigation of particular inequities related to college knowledge and access. Our findings highlight educators’ experiential knowledge as a pedagogical tool, approaches to preparing students for postsecondary opportunities, and missed opportunities to enact a sociopolitical consciousness. Recommendations for inservice educator PD and future research are discussed.

“I’m a Teacher, I’m Gonna Always Protect You”: Understanding Black Educators’ Protection of Black Children

“…It is imperative that teacher educators support preservice and in-service teachers to continually develop, refine, and enact an asset-based political clarity about their students and the communities and families they represent. This can be fostered by teachers sharing and critically reflecting on their own and their students’ experiences and their teaching practices in relation to their social and political views and interests (Diemer & Li, 2011; Jackson & Knight-Manuel, 2019; Kirkland, 2014; Ngo et al, 2017; Varghese & Snyder, 2018; Watts & Hipolito-Delgado, 2015).…”

Critical Reflection and Generativity: Toward a Framework of Transformative Teacher Education for Diverse Learners

“…Second is the problem of the misconceived effect of cultural-match. Although literature on prospective teachers of color suggests that their cultural awareness and personal experiences are assets for teaching all students, especially students of color (Jackson & Knight-Manuel, 2019; Villegas & Davis, 2008), prospective teachers of color need preparation in order to teach diverse students effectively (Achinstein & Aguirre, 2008; Achinstein & Ogawa, 2011; Mabokela & Madsen, 2007). Zeichner (1996) argues that even when teachers and students share a significant part of their cultural background, teacher educators cannot assume that teachers can easily translate cultural knowledge into culturally relevant pedagogy (Montecinos, 1995).…”

“…Similarly, Gay (2000) asserted, “Similar ethnicity between students and teachers may be potentially beneficial, but it is not a guarantee of pedagogical effectiveness” (p. 205). Moreover, research shows that teachers of color, if not critically assessing their assumptions and practices, have the potential to pathologize students of color, reinforcing deficit thinking (Achinstein & Aguirre, 2008; Jackson & Knight-Manuel, 2019) and internalizing racism due to socialization in a White culture and oppressive schooling system (Kohli, 2014). Teacher educators should not assume that prospective teachers of color are immediately ready to tap their knowledge and experiences in teaching diverse students; rather, as Jackson and Knight-Manuel (2019) suggest, teacher education programs need to create spaces purposefully for prospective teachers of color to critically examine their own sociopolitical consciousness.…”

Transnational Friendships and Fluid Boundaries in Early Childhood Classrooms: The Possibilities of (Un)Productive Play in Teacher–Researcher Collaborations for Equity

“…In this literature review, we explore how whiteness is normalized in collaborative spaces, adding to tensions that privilege researcher knowledge and reinforces hierarchies between theory and practice. Didactic and unilateral professional development is well-documented as ineffective in fostering professional learning and cultivating teacher leadership; yet, it is still a standard practice in many schools (Clandinin, 2015; Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999; Jackson & Knight-Manuel, 2019). Hamza et al (2018) illustrated the problems with professional development implemented without the shared and distributed agency emphasized by King and Swartz (2015).…”