Student Teachers' Resistance to Exploring Racism: Reflections on 'doing' border pedagogy

Abstract

While teachers have a responsibility to teach in a way that is anti-discriminatory and inclusive of all students irrespective of students' gender, 'race'/ethnicity, social class, disability or sexual orientation, in this paper my focus is on 'race' and racism and the ways in which some teacher education students resist examining their own racialised assumptions. Given that 'race' is invariably constructed in terms of the 'Other', it is imperative, as Gillborn (1996, p. 165) has suggested in the British context, for whites to 're ect critically on their own assumptions and actions as whites'. It is equally imperative in Australia for 'white' researchers and teachers who are committed to anti-racism to turn the gaze inward and to re ect on our own racialised assumptions. Within this context one of the key concerns of this paper is the extent to which teacher education students can be given the freedom to express their views and explore their value positions without however slipping over into perpetuating racist stereotypes.

A Healthy Dose of Race? White Students’ and Teachers’ Unintentional Brushes with Whiteness

“…Moreover, excising race from our core discussions as Australian educators is reflective of a broader culture of whiteness characteristic of Australian tertiary settings (Gustone, 2009). For Douglas and Halas (2013), this culture can be seen in patterned racial exclusions that result in a predominance of white people being represented at all levels of the academy, and in curricula and learning environments that habitually deny a 'non-white' reality by, among other means, avoiding discussions that are likely to create tensions amongst predominantly white cohorts (Aveling, 2002;Haviland, 2008). These patterned omissions create exclusionary sites that render calls for 'inclusion' meaningless in the face of institutional racism (Pearce, 2003, p. 273), details of which we are mindful given our presence as white educators, which can engrain the racial assumptions we seek to challenge.…”

The Politics of Quality Teacher Discourses: Implications for Pre-service Teachers in High Poverty Schools

“…Furthermore, we argue the need for social justice, through quality teaching, reflects building national and international recognition of the need for social change. Quality teaching discourses aligned with a finite number of measurable traits and attributes associated with test scores do not account for the kinds of traits, attributes or dispositions that make the greatest social, political or life-changing difference to young people from high poverty backgrounds, such as having teachers who enact a sense of social justice (Sleeter & Montecinos, 2016), commitment to anti-racist teaching (Aveling, 2002) and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education (Price, 2016) or transformational practices (Crawford-Garrett, 2015).…”

Special Issue Race Ethnicity and Education: Initial teacher education: developments, dilemmas and challenges

“…backgrounds (Aveling, 2002; Bhopal and Danaher, 2013). Other research suggests that teacher education programs must take a multicultural perspective in order to contribute to principles of social justice (Levine Rasky, 2001;Solomon et al, 2005).…”

“…By contrast, through engagement in diversity focused teacher education courses, pre-service teachers can gain greater critical insight into the effects of diversity upon teaching and learning (LadsonBillings, 1995;. Research in Australia suggests that teachers have a responsibility to teach in a way that is anti-discriminatory and inclusive of all students irrespective of students'backgrounds (Aveling, 2002; Bhopal and Danaher, 2013). Other research suggests that teacher education programs must take a multicultural perspective in order to contribute to principles of social justice (Levine Rasky, 2001;Solomon et al, 2005).…”