This study sought to investigate the efficacy of a professional development designed to equip teachers with antiracist practices and support them in developing an abolitionist mindset. The study was designed for white teachers. Participants of the study engaged in a 6-week course grounded in a constructivist learning theory, TLT, and centered…

This qualitative case study examined exit-credential papers from a teacher preparation program to explore how pre-service teachers discussed racial positionality in relation to teaching for social justice. Framed by a Critical Whiteness perspective, the pre-service teachers' papers revealed that out of the cohort of twenty-four, only seven White…

Background: Students with marginalized identities can experience identity threats in higher education. Instructors can help improve student outcomes by using identity safety cues (ISCs), which signal to marginalized groups that their identities are valued. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine whether including ISCs in course syllabi…

This qualitative study explored the experiences, and specifically the challenges, of white elementary student teachers in an urban setting. One of the most interesting findings from this study involved the varied levels of engagement with the school curriculum. Although every Urban Student Teacher (UST) embraced the curriculum, data showed…

Whitewashedness has been trickling down in language classrooms through assimilation and colorblind practices. These practices have irreversible effects on the psyche of immigrant and refugee learners in K-12 schools. This research study investigates 15 teacher candidates' ideologies regarding colorblindness by empowering them to create…

Studies persistently show disparities in exclusionary discipline across racial/ethnic groups in U.S. schools. Using administrative data from kindergarteners through fifth graders in Indiana, we examine the effects of student-teacher race/ethnicity matching on disciplinary outcomes. We find that Black students exhibit lower rates of suspension and…

The racial and ethnic diversity of faculty in the United States is not keeping pace with that of students. Still, the majority of faculty are white despite improvement over the past twenty years (Davis & Fry, 2019). The need for faculty to enhance their cultural awareness and multicultural efficacy in higher education is evident…

This study explores the stories of White, female teachers to understand moments of critical consciousness around race during childhood experiences that may have supported strong relationships with students of color in their teaching careers. Qualitative methods were employed to collect and analyze the stories of five White, female teachers in an…

This multicase study examined the socialization experiences of four preservice high school English teachers from four different Midwestern teacher education programs to understand how their acculturative and professional socialization experiences influenced their social justice beliefs. This study also examined how participants' most salient…

The purpose of this article is to examine the role that cultural identity development plays in understanding cross-cultural mentoring encounters between White faculty and faculty of color. The authors apply a theory adaptation to present the components of a conceptual framework for developing mentoring approaches that consider a person's cultural…

Within psychology, efforts to address racial-ethnic disparities in students' academic outcomes have focused primarily on students themselves. But there is another important person in classrooms: the teacher. In the United States, most racial-ethnically minoritized students are taught by White teachers. Drawing on research on cross-race…

"Plyler v. Doe" (1982) is a Supreme Court case that affirms legal access to K-12 public schools for undocumented students. "Plyler" shapes K-12 classrooms wherein teaching and learning occur. However, what happens when preservice teachers are unaware of "Plyler" and its potential impact on their classroom practices?…

This qualitative research study examined the experiences of two Black female teachers and six White female teachers who participated in five Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) workshops that incorporated Open Studio Process (OSP) using Expressive Therapy Continuum (ETC). It is informed by research on defensiveness and resistance that often…

This manuscript describes a white teacher's process of teaching texts authored by writers from historically marginalized cultural groups in a high school classroom. I wrote this self-study as theoretical guidance for teachers who also want to contextualize conversations about race. The scholarship of bell hooks motivated me to adopt the pedagogy…

The purpose of this study was to examine the importance of the student-faculty mentoring relationship from the perspectives of a Black male doctoral student in music education and his White mentor/professor. A specific focus of this study was the development of trust. Previous studies with doctoral students have identified trust as a key component…