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An Exploration of the Development and Enactment of Anti-Racist Teaching Practices in the Elementary Classroom

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An Exploration of the Development and Enactment of Anti-Racist Teaching Practices in
the Elementary Classroom
by
Marie Elizabeth Rose Brown Williams

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
A dissertation submitted to the faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education

May 2022

© Copyright by Marie Elizabeth Rose Brown Williams 2022
All Rights Reserved

The Committee for Marie Elizabeth Rose Brown Williams certifies the approval of this
Dissertation

David Cash
Sheila Barrett McCabe
Cathy Sloane Krop, Committee Chair

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
2022

iv
Abstract
Students of color continue to experience disparate academic outcomes despite state and federal
initiatives intended to close equity and opportunity gaps; furthermore, the impact of these
disparities translates into inequities in health, housing, and employment. While public schools
are becoming increasingly diverse, and states have begun to recognize racism as a public health
crisis, teachers are predominantly White and female. The role of the classroom teacher is pivotal
in directly impacting learning outcomes for students; thus, the purpose of this study was to
explore the development and enactment of anti-racist teaching practices among elementary
teachers. The study used a qualitative methodology and conducted semi-structured interviews
with eight elementary teachers. The study’s findings indicate the importance of critical self-
reflection and interrogation of Whiteness, access to instructional resources, and staff
collaboration as practices to promote anti-racist teaching. The study also suggests that anti-racist
practitioners decenter their Whiteness in the classroom, use curriculum as a lever to elevate
marginalized voices, develop their students’ critical consciousness, and encourage the
exploration and enactment of anti-racist activism. While the impact of parental influence was not
conclusively determined, student feedback and mastery experiences were identified as important
sources of anti-racist efficacy.

v
Acknowledgements
This accomplishment would not have been possible without God’s grace and the love and
support of my family.
I would like to extend my sincerest appreciation to my committee chair, Dr. Krop, for her
support, guidance, swift and thoughtful feedback, and encouragement during the dissertation
process. I would also like to offer my deepest gratitude to my committee members, Dr. David
Cash and Dr. Sheila Barrett McCabe for their time and expertise.

vi
List of Tables
Table 1: Summary of Participants…………………………………………………..……………54
Table 2: Recommendations for Practice…………………………………………………………91

vii
Table of Contents
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv
Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... v
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. vi
Chapter One: Overview of the Study .............................................................................................. 1
Background of the Problem ................................................................................................ 4
Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................................... 6
Significance of the Study .................................................................................................... 7
Limitations and Delimitations ............................................................................................. 8
Definition of Terms............................................................................................................. 9
Organization of the Study ................................................................................................. 11
Chapter Two: Review of the Literature ........................................................................................ 13
Critical Race Theory in Education .................................................................................... 14
Historical Overview of Race and Education ..................................................................... 16
Teacher Racialized Identity Development ........................................................................ 20
Whiteness 20
Unpacking Whiteness in Teacher Education Programs ............................................... 22
Whiteness and Inservice Teachers ............................................................................... 24
Anti-Racist Pedagogy ....................................................................................................... 26
Historical Approaches to Race Visible Teaching ........................................................ 26
Multicultural Education (MCE) ................................................................................... 26
Culturally Relevant/Responsive/Sustaining Pedagogies ............................................. 27
Goals of Anti-Racist Pedagogy/Practices/Approaches ................................................ 28

viii
Anti-Racist Pedagogy/Practices/Approaches-Methods ............................................... 29
Anti-Racist Pedagogy/Practices/Approaches-Materials .............................................. 31
Other School Based Influences on Anti-Racist Teaching ................................................. 32
Parental Attitudes Toward Race Based Conversations ................................................ 33
School Leadership Supports for Anti-Racist Teaching ................................................ 35
Teacher Efficacy ............................................................................................................... 36
Culturally Responsive Teaching Efficacy .................................................................... 38
Strategies for Building Culturally Responsive Teacher Self-Efficacy ........................ 38
Assessing High and Low Culturally Responsive Teacher Self-Efficacy ..................... 40
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 42
Chapter Three: Methodology ........................................................................................................ 45
Statement of the Problem .................................................................................................. 45
Purpose of the Study ......................................................................................................... 46
Sample and Population ..................................................................................................... 46
Instrumentation ................................................................................................................. 47
Data Collection ................................................................................................................. 49
Data Analysis .................................................................................................................... 50
Summary ........................................................................................................................... 51
Chapter Four: Findings ................................................................................................................. 52
Participants ........................................................................................................................ 53
Results for Research Question 1: Racialized Identity Development ................................ 54
Experiences as a Racialized Other ............................................................................... 55
Early Social Justice Orientations ................................................................................. 57

ix
Recognizing White Privilege ....................................................................................... 59
Discussion for Research Question 1 ............................................................................ 61
Results for Research Question 2: Anti-Racist Teaching and Learning Approaches ........ 62
Naming and Normalizing the Social Construct of Race in the Classroom .................. 63
Using Curriculum to Decenter Whiteness and Develop Critical Consciousness ......... 65
Supporting Students to Act Against Injustice .............................................................. 67
Improving Student Learning Outcomes ....................................................................... 69
Discussion for Research Question 2 ............................................................................ 70
Results for Research Question 3: Influences on Anti-Racist Teaching ............................ 71
Access to Resources as Support ................................................................................... 72
Collaboration with Colleagues as Support ................................................................... 74
Limited Parent Engagement ......................................................................................... 76
Impacts of COVID-19 .................................................................................................. 78
Discussion for Research Question 3 ............................................................................ 79
Results for Research Question 4: Teacher Perceptions of Anti-Racist Efficacy .............. 80
Anti-racist Efficacy as a Journey not a Destination ..................................................... 81
Building Anti-Racist Efficacy Through Multiple Sources .......................................... 83
Relationship Building as a Perceived Area of High Efficacy ...................................... 84
Discussion for Research Question 4 ............................................................................ 85
Summary ........................................................................................................................... 86
Chapter Five: Discussion .............................................................................................................. 87
Findings............................................................................................................................. 88
Implications for Practice ................................................................................................... 90

x
Future Research ................................................................................................................ 92
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 95
References ..................................................................................................................................... 96
Appendix A: Interview Protocol ................................................................................................. 113
1

Chapter One: Overview of the Study
The role of public education in society has long been debated; however, there is general
consensus regarding its purpose to perpetuate a democratic society by developing a literate
citizenry that can advance their individual dreams and aspirations as well as contribute to the
public good (Hocschild & Scovronick, 2003; Ravitch, 2010; Rios et al, 2009; Westheimer,
2004). The value of a quality public education manifests itself in a number of post-secondary
metrics including higher-education, employment, housing, and health outcomes (DataQuest;
Ladson-Billings, 2006; Myers et al., 2016; Torpey, 2018). Public education allocates more
resources than any other program for social welfare and is the largest expenditure of almost all
state governments (Hocschild & Scovronick, 2003). Additionally, although public education is a
state responsibility, federal spending on education has increased to over $50 billion on K-12
education in a period of 50 years (Johnson IV et al., 2021; U.S. Department of Education).
However, not unlike the history of this nation, the history of public education in the
United States is rooted in racism, oppression, and white supremacy, and schools often reproduce
the inequities found in society writ large (Rios, 2009). When Thomas Jefferson first articulated
the inseparable relationship between education and a free society (Anderson, 1988), his thoughts
tended only toward White children; the children of enslaved Africans were expressly denied the
right to an education through the passage of anti-literacy laws in many southern states
(Anderson, 1988). In response, Black southerners began developing a system of public and
private schooling in 1860 (Anderson, 1988), and in 1896, the United States Supreme Court
upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation in Plessy vs Ferguson. It was not until 1954
that the United States Supreme Court ruled racial segregation in public schooling was inherently
unequal and unconstitutional in Brown vs Board of Education (Anderson, 2006). Despite being
2

highly touted as a landmark decision for racial equality, Brown resulted in a loss of jobs for
40,000 Black educators, the shuttering of historically Black high schools, racially hostile
environments for Black students attending predominantly White schools, and the closure of
public schools which deprived Black students the opportunity to complete their high school
education (Anderson, 2006). Thus, Horace Mann’s promise of education as the “great equalizer”
rang hollow for generations of students of color.
The term “achievement gap” entered the public discourse during the 1960s and was
coined to describe the disparate achievement of Black students relative to their White
counterparts. This term has since been abandoned in favor of “opportunity gap/s” “performance
gap/s” or “equity gap/s” in acknowledgement of the fact that disparate outcomes for students of
color do not occur owing to a lack of student ability but often result due to the reproduction of
structural and systemic inequities in public education (Flores, 2018; Hung et al., 2020). Scholars
assert the academic achievement gap between Black students and their White counterparts
appeared to be narrowing until the late 1980s; however, gaps began widening again in the 1990s
(Brown, 2015; Hung et al., 2020). Since that time, disparate outcomes for Black students relative
to their White peers have proven to be an intractable and persistent problem despite a slew of
national educational reform efforts including charter schools and vouchers, the standards-based
movement, The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and increased state and federal education
spending (Cross, 2014; Mehta, 2013). Longitudinal student achievement data, gathered by the
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), indicate that gaps between Black and
White student performance have remained stagnant since the early 1990s, and the overall rate of
academic growth for Black students lags far behind all other student groups.
3

Researchers have long sought to understand the nature of the performance gap between
Black students and other student groups in order to implement strategies to eliminate disparities,
and scholars have asserted any number of explanations for the underachievement of Black
students relative to their White peers: parental involvement; (Hung et al., 2020); cultural
differences between home and school environments (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001);
socioeconomic status (Henry et al., 2020; Johnson IV et al., 2021; Yeung, 2008), and teacher
pedagogy, quality, expectations and bias (Johnson IV et al., 2021; Peterson, 2016; van de Bergh
et al., 2010). As further support for the focus on classroom practice as an approach for
eliminating opportunity gaps in public education, research asserts classroom teachers are the
single most influential factor on student learning outcomes (Buddin & Zamarro, 2009; Hattie,
2008; Leithwood, 2019). Efficacious teachers persevere through challenges, demonstrate a
strong commitment to the work, develop more challenging activities, build a positive classroom
environment, support ideas, address needs, and increase student achievement (Schunk, 2020).
Building the capacity of schools, and more specifically classroom teachers, to develop
and enact student-centered, race-visible teaching practices would acknowledge that students of
color have not been well-served by the current system of public education; ensure inclusive,
welcoming, and affirming learning environments for all students; leverage collaborative
relationships with families to co-create student-centered learning experiences; decenter
Eurocentric, colonial and hegemonic narratives that dominate classroom curricula, instructional
materials and strategies; create opportunities for all students to learn about the valuable
contributions of non-White activists, artists, entrepreneurs and scientists to the advancement of
the local, regional and national community; promote academically rigorous, culturally competent
and critically conscious teaching and learning experiences; bring awareness to local, regional and
4

national societal inequities and equip students to take action; and ultimately disrupt persistent
and historical inequities that have long existed for students of color.
Background of the Problem
California’s African American and Hispanic/LatinX students are persistently
outperformed by their White and Asian peers on statewide summative assessments, UC/CSU a-g
eligibility rates, graduation rates, and other metrics of school and district performance (California
School Dashboard; DataQuest). The California School Dashboard reports that in 2019, 23.7% of
African American high school graduates were deemed college and career ready compared to
36.1% of Hispanic/LatinX students, 53.8% of White students, and 74% of Asian students.
These disparate academic outcomes have a tremendously negative impact on African
American and Hispanic/LatinX students well into adulthood. Data reported by the California
Department of Education indicated that in 2017-2018, 59.7% of American American, and 57.6%
of Hispanic/LatinX students, attended a two or four college within 12 or 16 months of
completing high school, compared with 70.4% of White and 83.9% of Asian students. The
Economic Policy Institute reported that in 2020, the overall unemployment rate in the state of
California was 4.4%; however, the rates for African Americans, and those identified as
Hispanic/LatinX, were 6.0% and 5.4% respectively compared to 3.4% for Whites and for 3.0%
Asians. Pew Research Center (2019) reported that in 2017, African-Americans represented 12%
of the U.S. adult population but 33% of the sentenced prison population and 16% of the U.S.
adults identified as Hispanic/LatinX but constituted 23% of the sentenced prison population.
Whites accounted for 64% of U.S. adults and only 30% of prisoners. Equally disturbing,
homeownership levels for African Americans have decreased almost every year since 2004. In
2017, the rate of home ownership for African Americans was 43% compared to 46.2% for
5

Hispanic/LatinX homeowners, 72.9% for White homeowners and a national average of 63.9%
(McMullen, 2019). Finally, the Urban Institute reports that in 2020, the poverty rate in
California was 9.2% but 6.6% for White people, 15.2% for African Americans and 13.8% for
persons identified as Hispanic/LatinX.
Against this backdrop of disparate academic outcomes and structural racism, an
increasingly diverse student population is being taught at alarmingly high rates by white female
educators. According to the California School Dashboard, 54% of California public school
students are Hispanic/LatinX, 5.3% are African American, 60.7% are economically
disadvantaged, and 18.6% are English learners; however, California Department of Education
reports that in 2018-2019, 60% of California’s teachers are White, 74% of those teachers are
women, and only 21% of teachers identify as Hispanic/LatinX.
Research asserts that students of color who experience educators of their same race
perform better than when their teachers are predominantly White (Redding, 2019; Yarnell &
Bohrnstedt, 2017); however, successfully recruitment and retention of teachers of color
continues to elude many schools and districts (Goldhaber, 2019), and teacher preparation
programs and in-service professional development workshops provide too little training
regarding culturally relevant and responsive teaching practices (Orfield & Frankenberg, 2014;
Rios, 2009). While districts must remain committed to the recruitment and retention of a diverse
teaching staff, they must also attend to equipping their current teaching staff to meet the
academic and social-emotional needs of an increasingly diverse student population.
Statement of the Problem
Equity and opportunity gaps for students of color in school and beyond are not being
closed, despite a slew of well-intentioned educational reforms, and disparate outcomes in
6

academic achievement persist into adulthood with devastating results. Additionally, as the
student population in California public schools has become increasingly diverse, the public
education teaching force in California remains alarmingly stable: White and female. Research
asserts teacher quality, experience, attitudes, bias, and expectations are factors that contribute to
the persistence of the achievement gap (Johnson IV et al., 2021; Peterson, 2016; van de Bergh et
al., 2010). Research further cites the importance of classroom teachers as a key influence on
student academic achievement (Buddin & Zamarro, 2009; Hattie, 2008; Leithwood, 2019).
However, classroom teachers are often ill-prepared (through preservice or in-service training) to
address the increasing diversity of their students in ways that meaningfully improve and sustain
increased learning outcomes (Orfield & Frankenberg, 2014; Rios, 2009).
Race, while widely accepted as a social construct (Bonilla-Silva, 2015; Smedley &
Smedley, 2005), is highly salient and consequential for people of color (Bonilla-Silva, 2015).
Furthermore, racism is increasingly being recognized as a public health crisis (Vestal, 2020).
School-based initiatives that gesture toward equity with multicultural, diversity, and anti-bias
initiatives provide a step in the right direction by acknowledging and validating racial difference.
However, such initiatives are not a proxy for anti-racist education, and more explicitly anti-racist
work is required to decenter hegemonic and oppressive learning environments for students and
dismantle barriers to learning for students of color (Boykin et al, 2020; Durand and Tavaras,
2021; Kishimoto, 2020; Shim, 2018; Sleeter, 2017; Welton et al., 2018).
Purpose of the Study
This study seeks to understand how elementary teachers develop and enact anti-racist
teaching practices by examining teacher racial-identity development, anti-racist teaching
approaches and strategies, non-classroom influences, and anti-racist teaching efficacy.
7

The study asks the following research questions:
1. What experiences influence the racialized identity development of elementary anti-racist
practitioners?
2. What teaching and learning approaches do anti-racist elementary teachers employ with
students?
3. How do elementary teachers perceive their anti-racist efforts are supported by factors
outside their classroom?
4. How do elementary teachers perceive their efficacy for anti-racist teaching?
The study draws on the tenets of Critical Race Theory (i.e. racism as normal, race as a
social construct, interest convergence, intersectionality, and voice or counter narrative) and
Teacher Efficacy Theory, an element of Social Cognitive Theory, as theoretical frameworks for
understanding how elementary teachers develop and implement anti-racist teaching practices in
an increasingly hostile context of racism, oppression and white supremacy.
Significance of the Study
This study is significant to classroom teachers as well as school and district contexts.
First and foremost, this study identifies the classroom teacher as the unit of study and seeks to
understand the enactment of anti-racist teaching from the point of view of the practitioner (i.e.,
classroom teacher) rather than merely highlighting the tools (i.e. packaged curricular programs,
and instructional materials) at the disposal of schools and districts. Additionally, by focusing on
the practitioners’ identity, pedagogy, and efficacy, this study can attempt to bridge the knowing-
doing gap that sidelines so many well-intentioned equity initiatives.
At the school or district level, this study can shed light on the systems and supports
needed for classroom teachers to effectively implement anti-racist teaching practices and sustain
8

improved academic outcomes for minoritized youth. The results of this study can be used to
identify priorities around professional learning experiences (including coaching and mentoring),
allocate staff collaboration time, procure school-based resources to support systemic efforts to
ensure educational equity for all students, and discover teachers’ traits and dispositions that can
support recruitment and retention efforts.
This study is also instructive for teacher preparation programs to better understand the
importance of a) centering race in designing teaching and learning experiences and b) self-
reflection in developing a racialized identity that affirms students’ identities and experiences,
decenters whiteness, and emphasizes rigorous, culturally competent and critically conscious
pedagogy.
Limitations and Delimitations
One limitation of this study is the context in which it was conducted. Due to the ongoing
COVID-19 global pandemic, schools closed in spring 2020, and teachers provided instruction
remotely. While schools reopened in fall 2021, the ongoing pandemic has led to disruptions and
frequent, if brief, classroom closures and/or student and staff absences. Creating and maintaining
rigorous and affirming classroom spaces is infinitely more difficult-though not impossible-given
the current context of the pandemic. Additionally, students of color have been most negatively
impacted by COVID-19 due to lack of access to technology and historically disparate chronic
absenteeism rates. Thus, the very students anti-racist elementary classroom practitioners desire to
reach are often absent or only partially engaged in learning. Additionally, given the timing of the
data collection, and COVID-19 classroom restrictions, it is not possible to directly observe the
practices teachers report implementing in their classrooms.
9

The findings of this study may be generalizable to other district contexts engaged in the
work of anti-racist teaching practices given that the majority of elementary teachers are White
females, California’s public schools are increasingly diverse, and students of color experience
similarly disparate outcomes in schools throughout the state of California, relative to their White
peers.
Definition of Terms
Anti-Racist Efficacy: a belief in one’s ability to enact anti-racist practices.
Anti-Racist Pedagogy/Teaching: education that names race and racism, employs anti-
racist instructional strategies, and takes action to disrupt racism within the school and broader
community (Kishimoto, 2018).
Colorblindness: Colorblindness covertly perpetuates racist systems and structures
without explicitly naming race or racism. Frames of colorblindness include a) dismissing racism
as a thing of the past and insisting opportunities are available to all; b) attributing cultural deficits
to communities of color and deeming their suffering as consequential of their practices; c)
normalizing oppressive policies by arguing occurrences, such as racial segregation, are based on
individual or group choices not social structures and policies; d) agreeing discrimination persists
but ignoring how institutional racism negatively impacts people of color (Leonardo, 2009).
Critical Race Theory: a guiding set of assumptions through which to interrogate public
education: racism as normal; race as a social construct, social justice as a goal of White people
only when there is personal benefit to them (interest convergence); multiple identities
represented in individuals (intersectionality); and storytelling as a tool for illustrating broad
principles regarding race and racial/social justice (counter-narrative) (Ladson-Billings, 2013).
10

Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: approaches to teaching that center the cultural
experiences of students and seek to develop students’ critical consciousness by interrogating the
status quo (Gay, 2002; Ladson-Billings, 2021).
Culturally Responsive Teacher Self-Efficacy: A teacher’s belief in his or her
capabilities to execute the practices associated with culturally responsive teaching (Siwatu,
2007).
Minoritized Youth: students whose status is considered subordinate to a dominant group
based on socially constructed racialized identities (but not necessarily group size).
Multicultural Education: a political movement to ensure social justice for underserved
and disenfranchised students by means of widespread school reform and through the critical
investigation of systems of power and privilege (Sleeter, 2018).
Praxis: the practical application of any branch of learning.
Race: a social construct that originated in the 18
th
century and falsely asserted inherent
biological differences (i.e. hair texture, skin color) between groups of people. The sole purpose
of this false narrative was to rationalize the enslavement of African people (Bryant et al., 2022).
Race-Visible Teaching: used interchangeably throughout the study with anti-racist
pedagogy/teaching.
Racism/Systemic Racism: discrimination that results from political, economic, or legal
structures that systematically disadvantage marginalized groups and reinforce racial inequalities
in employment, housing, health and education (Payne & Hannay, 2021).
Racialization: the processes by which a group of people is defined by their socially
constructed racial identity.
Students of Color: students with non-White racialized identities.
11

Teacher Self-Efficacy: an individual’s personal beliefs regarding their abilities to learn
or perform actions at designated levels (Schunk, 2020).
Undeserved Youth: used interchangeably with minoritized youth to describe students of
color who have not been well served by public education.
Whiteness: the structural value of skin color and the associated benefits and privileges
that are afforded to members of the White race (Leonardo, 2009).
White Privilege: the accrual of advantages by virtue of being racially (i.e. socially)
constructed as White (Leonardo, 2004).
Organization of the Study
The purpose of this study is to understand the relationship between teacher identity
development, anti-racist teaching strategies, non-classroom based, school influences, and teacher
self-efficacy in the development and enactment of anti-racist teaching. Chapter 1 provides an
overview of the problem, as it relates to educational, economic, health and housing disparities,
and establishes the importance of creating anti-racist classrooms to address persistently disparate
outcomes for students of color. Chapter 2 introduces Critical Race Theory and Social Cognitive
Theory as theoretical frameworks underpinning this study, provides a historical overview of race
and education in the United States, and explores the literature regarding Whiteness; anti-racist
pedagogy; teacher efficacy, and the influence of parents and school leadership in creating
racially just classrooms and schools. Chapter 3 describes the research methodology and a
rationale for the selected methodology. It also provides information about the sample, how the
location and participants were selected, the study’s instrumentation and the framework for data
collection and analysis. Chapter 4 details the findings of the research, answers the research
12

questions and relates the results to existing literature. Chapter 5 discusses the implications of the
findings and recommendations for future research.

13

Chapter Two: Review of the Literature
Equity and opportunity gaps in public education result in persistently disparate and
inequitable outcomes for students of color, and these gaps have lasting implications for
employment, housing, and health outcomes well into adulthood (DataQuest; Ladson-Billings,
2006; Myers et al., 2016; Torpey, 2018). These gaps and resulting disparities are rooted in
historically racist systems and structures that intentionally marginalize students of color and
reproduce inequities in public education and society writ large (Anderson 1988; Rios, 2009).
Research asserts classroom teachers are the most influential factor in influencing student
learning outcomes (Buddin & Zamarro, 2009; Hattie, 2008; Leithwood, 2019); therefore,
developing the capacity of classroom teachers, who are predominantly White and female, to
explicitly name race and racism, create collaborative and student centered classrooms, challenge
ahistorical and Eurocentric curriculum, and develop students’ critical consciousness and
orientation toward action for justice is essential for building anti-racist classrooms and
eliminating equity and opportunity gaps for historically underserved students. The purpose of
this study is to understand how racialized identity development, anti-racist pedagogy, and school
support factors (i.e. school leadership and parents) build teacher self-efficacy for implementing
anti-racist teaching practices.
The ensuing literature review will provide an explication of the study’s theoretical
framework (Critical Race Theory); present a brief historical overview of education policies and
their specific impact on African American students; and explore concepts of teacher racialized
identity development, anti-racist pedagogy, school support factors, and teacher efficacy as they
relate to developing and implementing an anti-racist teaching praxis.

14

Critical Race Theory in Education
Critical Race Theory scholarship originated in the legal field, and Ladson-Billings and
Tate’s seminal work “Towards a Critical Race Theory in Education” asserted race had been
undertheorized in education and school inequities were the “logical and predictable result of a
racialized society” that muted and marginalized discussions of race and racism (1995). The
hallmarks of Critical Race Theory provide a guiding set of assumptions through which to
interrogate inequities in public education: racism as normal; race as social construct, social
justice as a goal of White people only when there is personal benefit to them (interest
convergence); anti-essentialism; and storytelling as a tool for illustrating broad principles
regarding race and racial/social justice (counter-narrative) (Ladson-Billings, 2013).
Critical Race Theory is applied as a theoretical framework to a wide variety of studies
including, but not limited to, science education (Mensah, 2019), leadership (Amiot, 2020),
experiences of teachers and students of color (Comeaux et al., 2021), and higher education
(Marrun et al., 2019; Patton et al., 2016). Studies that incorporate Critical Race Theory generally
employ qualitative research methods and have applied their emphasis on criticality to explore the
study of the LatinX experience (LatCrit), individuals with disabilities (DisCrit), and the study of
the Asian experience (AsianCrit).
Due to its intentional focus on the impact of race and racism in public education, the
proposed study will draw on several tenets of Critical Race Theory. First, this study is grounded
in the assumption that racism is normal, and normalized in society and public schools, as
evidenced by disparate academic achievement, suspension, graduation, and attendance rates for
students of color. Secondly, this study seeks to explore the impact of socially constructed
concepts of race, racism and racialization by exploring teacher racial identity development as a
15

key element of improving student learning outcomes. Finally, this study seeks to explore the
factors that cause elementary teachers to implement anti-racist teaching practices, that
specifically address the learning needs of students of color, and the extent to which perceived
benefits or considerations influence these decisions (interest convergence).
In response to critics who assert the underlying assumptions of Critical Race Theory are
divisive (Zorn, 2018), lack an actual theory (Cabrera, 2018), and lack concrete strategies and
suggestions for eliminating racism (Zorn, 2018), scholars have proffered recommendations for
the use of Critical Race Theory as a theoretical framework. Dixson and Rousseau-Anderson
(2018) assert examining the role of education policy and practices in the construction of racial
inequity; rejecting dominant narratives about the inherent inferiority of people of color; and
examining the historical linkages between contemporary educational inequity and historical
patterns of racial oppression. Additionally, Howard (2016) suggests the development of concrete
examples of how to use Critical Race Theory as an analytical tool to improve school outcomes.
Finally, Howard and Navarro (2016) suggest using Critical Race Theory as a vehicle to support
predominantly White female teachers to understand the ways in which their unexamined
racialized identities perpetuate White privilege.
Borrowing from the recommendations offered by Dixson and Rousseau-Anderson
(2018), Howard (2016), and Howard and Navarro (2016), the ensuing literature review will
contextualize the study in the historical roots of racism in education and education policy and the
impact on African American students. While other minoritized student groups have been
negatively impacted by U.S. education policy, a full accounting of all implications for all
minoritized populations is well beyond the scope of this study. It is appropriate to highlight the
historical impact of education policy on African Americans given that their academic
16

performance lags well behind their peers. The study methodology will adopt a qualitative
approach (i.e., storytelling) and explicitly invite participants to examine the impact of their
racialized identities on their teaching practices. Finally, the study’s findings will seek to identify
concrete approaches to implementing race-visible teaching practices.
Historical Overview of Race and Education
The purpose of this historical overview is to trace the history and impact of federal
educational policy on African American students in order to contextualize their perpetual
disenfranchisement from equitable educational opportunities and outcomes and persistently
disparate learning outcomes relative to their White peers.
Public education did not exist in in colonial America until the mid-1800s, and White
students of means were educated privately at home, school, church, or through apprenticeships
(Holowchak, 2018). Thomas Jefferson first articulated the inseparable relationship between
education and a free society to the legislature of Virginia in 1787 and proposed every white child
would receive three years of public education (Anderson, 1988). However, the children of
enslaved Africans, who composed approximately 40% of Virginia’s children, were expressly
denied the right to an education. Between 1820 and 1835, most Southern states made it a crime
to teach enslaved children to read or write (Anderson, 1988). Thus, at its very inception, African-
American students were expressly denied access to, and benefit from, public education in the
United States.
From 1860-1935, Black southerners developed their own system of private and public
education; however, it is believed some schools were in existence prior to the Civil War and
simply increased their activities post-bellum (Anderson, 1988). These schools were developed,
and largely self-funded, by African Americans out of an intense desire to learn to read and write
17

and control their own lives and destinies as freed persons. Student enrollment in this system of
schools was largely underreported leading to an underestimation of the importance of Blacks in
the creation of universal education (Anderson, 2008). In actual fact, from 1860 to 1910, the
illiteracy rate among African Americans fell from 95% to 30% (Anderson, 1998).
In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in public schooling was
inherently unequal and unconstitutional in Brown vs Board of Education (Anderson, 2006).
While it was regarded as a landmark decision for civil rights, the Brown decision resulted in job
losses for 40,000 Black educators; the closing of historically Black high schools; racially hostile
environments for Black students attending predominantly White schools; and the closure of
public schools which deprived Black students the opportunity to graduate from high school
(Anderson, 2006). In one of the starkest examples of White resistance to school integration,
Prince Edward County, Virginia, closed its schools for five years in defiance of desegregation
mandates (Anderson, 2006). In 1960, over 80% of Mississippi’s Black population completed
fewer than nine years of school; South Carolina and Georgia followed with 79% and 75%
respectively (Anderson, 2006).
A decade later, the United States Congress commissioned The Equality of Educational
Opportunity Study (EEOS), commonly referred to as The Coleman Report, as part of the 1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Hill et al., 2017). Among the study’s findings was the conclusion that
inequities in school resources did not explain the observed inequalities in average student
achievement; rather, family background (i.e., parental income, education, wealth, and aspirations
for their children) proved a strong influence on student test scores and the availability of
resources in schools serving African-American and White students (Downey & Condron, 2016;
Hill et al., 2017). The broad acceptance of these findings demonstrates the minimization of the
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historical inequities African-American students experienced in schools by assigning
responsibility for disparate outcomes to factors beyond the school’s control (i.e., parental
income).
In 1983, a second report, A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform, was
commissioned by the U.S. Secretary of Education, and set the stage for the Standards Movement.
The report sounded the alarm on deficiencies throughout the public education system which were
invariably causing great risk to the safety, security, prosperity, and world prominence of the
nation. The report's recommendations included a new focus on "excellence" for all, which would
be achieved through more required courses in mathematics, English, science, and social studies.
The report also called for a longer school day and school year, more homework, tighter
university admission standards, more testing for students as indicators of proficiency, and higher
standards for becoming a teacher. According to Duman et al. (2018), the report signaled a shift
away from broader discussions of structural reform (i.e., combating poverty, and improving
housing and employment) and societal responsibility for improving schools as a means to
improve high-poverty schools and neighborhoods.
Less than a decade after A Nation at Risk was published, President George W. Bush
signed The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) into law. In addition to increasing state
and federal funding (Cross; 2014; Mehta, 2013), NCLB signaled the first time data was
disaggregated by student group to identify and close performance gaps between “high and low
performing students, minority and nonminority students and disadvantaged and non-
disadvantaged students” (Wun, 2012). In assessing the impact of President Bush’s ambitious
agenda of ensuring grade level proficiency in English language arts and mathematics for all
students by 2014, results are mixed (Davidson et al., 2015). Critical assessments of NCLB assert
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it was a failed policy from the beginning, as it “paradigmatically configures and fixates on Black
youth as problematic others” (Wun, 2012). Similarly, Leonardo (2009) observes NCLB is an
“‘act of Whiteness’ and a form of Whiteness as policy. “Its White common sense deems racial
disparities as unfortunate outcomes of group competition, uneven social development, or worse,
as stubborn cultural explanations of the inferiority of people of color” (p. 127). In plain terms,
NCLB did not make visible the structural obstacles faced by children of color and their families,
such as health disparities, labor market discrimination, and processes that a class analysis alone
cannot uncover (Brown et al., 2003).
Even more concerning, but less well known, under NCLB, states had wide latitude to
determine many elements of the assessment program and calculation of Adequate Yearly
Progress (AYP). Thus, some states stacked the deck heavily in favor of meeting their Adequate
Yearly Progress goals (Davidson et al., 2015; Wei, 2012). States chose their own exams and set
definitions of proficiency, established safe harbor provisions for instances where they did not
meet Adequate Yearly Progress targets, determined which student groups would be separately
accountable for meeting annual targets, and determined the length of time students must be
enrolled in the same school for their performance to contribute to that school’s AYP (Davidson
et al., 2015). Ultimately, cross-state differences in failure rates were largely the result of subtle
differences in states’ own NCLB rules. However, based on state developed and adopted
guidelines, White and Asian subgroups rarely failed, whereas more than half of all accountable
student groups composed of Native American students and students-with-disabilities failed to
meet proficiency targets (Davidson et al., 2015).
Most recently, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into law in December
2017 and granted states more autonomy to determine how schools are held accountable for
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student performance and make decisions regarding support and improvement. While it is too
early to measure the impact of ESSA on student learning outcomes (particularly as statewide
progress monitoring has essentially been halted due to the COVID-19 global pandemic),
concerns have already surfaced regarding the extent to which ESSA’s loosened restrictions may
unintentionally create loopholes for states to manipulate their metrics (i.e. student group size and
student groups reported) in order to present a more favorable picture of student achievement
within their contexts (Fusarelli & Ayscue, 2019).
This brief historical explication demonstrates that, aside from their express exclusion
from public education based on their racialized identities, efforts to improve learning outcomes
for African-American students have largely relied on colorblind approaches that minimize the
ongoing impacts of systemic racism and emphasis measurement of progress using normative
White standards of achievement.
Teacher Racialized Identity Development
Whiteness
Whiteness is the structural value of skin color and the associated benefits and privileges
that are afforded to members of the White race (Leonardo, 2009). Conceptually, Whiteness
operates as an ideology within society for the purpose of elevating the status of people
considered White over those who are considered non-White (Gillborn, 2019; Leonardo, 2018).
However, Whiteness is not the same as the socially constructed identity held by people referred
to as White (Gillborn, 2019; Leonardo, 2018).
Critical Whiteness Studies seeks to expose the ways in which Whiteness functions to
maintain racial oppression, and scholars generally fall into one of two categories. Abolitionists
argue the remedy for Whiteness is for White people to disidentify with their Whiteness, become
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race traitors, and abolish the White race as we know it (Leonardo, 2009). Reconstructionists
suggest Whiteness can be rehabilitated by creating White anti-racist identities. As Leonardo
posits, “Whiteness is not inherently racist, but being a White racist is” (2009, p.95). Thus,
ridding society of Whiteness does not mean the disappearance of White people or the promotion
of self-hatred; rather, White people are invited to understand the nature of Whiteness, and use
their privilege to unlearn, transform and achieve racial justice (Leondardo, 2009). Such is the
aim of developing anti-racist educators.
Whiteness in Public Education
While research asserts the benefits of race-matching minoritized students and teachers to
improve student learning outcomes (Wetzel, 2020), approximately 76% of inservice and
preservice teachers are white women (National Center for Educational Statistics). Even more
troubling, teachers of color leave the profession at twice the rate of their White counterparts.
Data from the Learning Policy Institute reveals that in 2012, the Black teacher turnover rate of
22% was nearly 50% greater than the non-Black teacher turnover rate. In the South, where Black
teachers are most likely to teach, their annual turnover rates were 26% (Carver-Thomas &
Darling-Hammond, 2017).
The changing demographics of schools and districts, the lack of teachers of color, and the
need to improve the educational experiences and outcomes of students of color, compel teachers
to develop skills and dispositions to effectively teach racially, culturally and linguistically
diverse students (Durand, 2021; Miller, 2017; Sleeter, 2017). Research on race and education
often focuses exclusively on students of color; however, the disproportionately high number of
White educators, in a country marked by racial inequality, has implications for the role they play
in recreating patterns of achievement and opportunity. Thus, it is essential to examine Whiteness
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and its relationship to teaching (Picower, 2009). Such an examination would invite
predominantly White educators to develop an explicit anti-racist identity, implement anti-racist
teaching practices, interrupt subconscious enactments of microaggressions, challenge inequitable
school practices, and effectively teach students of color (Durand & Tavaras, 2021; Taylor, 2017;
Utt & Tochluk, 2020).
Unpacking Whiteness in Teacher Education Programs
Teacher education programs graduate 80% White teachers for schools that are
becomingly increasingly diverse, and the vast majority of teacher education program faculty are
also White. Despite claiming to center multicultural, culturally responsive or social justice
education, teacher education programs typically offer isolated experiences in single courses
(Buchanan, 2015) rather than integrating topics of race and racism throughout all courses and
clinical experiences.
When race is presented as a topic for conversation, strategies for exploring White
privilege, Whiteness, race and structural racism include (but are not limited to): reflective
writings, journal entries, responding to stimuli (e.x., readings, videos, documentaries,
commercials), using digital media to create personal and reflective narratives, responding to
surveys, and engaging in reflective one-on-one or small group dialogue (Aronson et al, 2020;
Buchanan, 2015; Crowley & Smith, 2015; Matias, 2016). These approaches are decidedly
personal in nature and highlight the importance of beginning with critical self-reflection when
addressing race and racism in education (Miller, 2017). However, as Miller (2017) observes, it is
unlikely that one journal writing assignment in a single course on diversity will have lasting
implications for the deep and difficult work of unlearning racial superiority.
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Teacher responses to invitations to explore race and racism in teacher education programs
are generally categorized as first or second wave Whiteness studies. First wave studies are
characterized by race evasion, colorblindness, and an emphasis on asserting the challenges of
individual racism. In first wave studies of secondary teacher education programs, preservice
teachers displayed resistance to identifying Whiteness as a form of structural racism, claimed
ignorance for historical events, employed methods of niceness and Whiteness, expressed
ambivalence, unknowability and vulnerability, conflated race and racism with topics of class and
gender, and prioritized the value of their safety when entering difficult conversations about race
and racism (Crowley & Smith, 2015). Additionally, preservice teachers struggled to
acknowledge the existence of White privilege, name or take ownership for their complicity in
perpetuating Whiteness, and create a call to action (Aronson et al., 2020). Responses to surfacing
topics of race, racism and Whiteness in elementary teacher education programs included
hesitancy to talk about race (with relatives, students and their families, and their university
program peers); demonstration of passive empathy (Buchanan, 2015); and high degrees of
emotionality, characterized by anger, shame, and guilt (Matias, 2016).
Second wave Whiteness studies move beyond race evasion and colorblind ideologies and
embrace the complexity and non-linearity of the process of adopting a positive White racial
identity. Preservice teachers invested in critiquing their Whiteness identified structural racism
by reflecting on their own privileged and normalized identities (Crowley, 2019). Their
understanding of the implications of structural racism resulted in their critique of deficit
narratives and identification of the influence of outside forces on student achievement (Crowley,
2015). However, some preservice teachers struggled to name their personal complicity in
upholding Whiteness (Crowley, 2015). Those who could name their Whiteness and White
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dominance explicitly, reflected on their internal struggles regarding their identity, and articulated
a commitment to change (Aronson et al., 2020). Further still, some preservice teachers
understood that a) their recognition of themselves as racialized beings is not sufficient for
becoming anti-racist and b) their efforts to engage in anti-racist actions will be ongoing (Shim,
2020).
Addressing complex topics of racism and Whiteness in teacher education programs,
attended predominantly by White women, requires several considerations and/or conditions.
Relational trust must be built with and between students; however, if not approached carefully,
this can lead to unintentionally centering Whiteness (Bennett, 2018). Additionally, preservice
teachers require multiple exposures to stimuli over time to interrogate complex topics of racism
and Whiteness (Bennett, 2018). Finally, due to its nonlinear nature, progress and momentum in
unpacking Whiteness and racism can seem halting; however, questioning doesn’t always mean
ground is being lost, rather new barriers are being prepared to be transgressed (Crowley, 2015).
Whiteness and Inservice Teachers
While there is an abundance of literature regarding preservice teachers’ racial identity
development, there is a dearth of literature regarding the racial identity development of inservice
teachers. What literature is available suggests inservice teachers generally avoid or demonstrate
hesitancy to engage in conversations of race, racism and Whiteness. The preponderance of first
wave studies of inservice teachers suggests a need for further study.
One theme from the predominantly qualitative case studies of race-evasive inservice
teacher practices (composed of classroom observations and interviews) is the use of “tools of
Whiteness” to evade, downplay, and/or dismiss the impact of structural racism on student
learning and life outcomes and the complicity of Whiteness in upholding White supremacist
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structures. Common approaches to evade conversations about race (and the complicity of
Whiteness) included seeing racism and White supremacy as individualized rather than structural;
centering concepts of universal acceptance and care and safety as alternatives to engaging in
race-visible classroom conversation; asserting that elementary students either do not see or are
not equipped for race-based conversations; conflating issues of class and gender when discussing
societal inequities; and acknowledging the presence of race and racism but demonstrating an
inability to act on it in order to disrupt and dismantle systems of oppression (Alvarez & Milner
IV, 2018; Epstein, 2019; Flintoff, 2019; Malott et al., 2017).
Furthermore, even after showing initial eagerness or interest to engage in race-visible
practices, studies show White teachers are apt to employ tools of Whiteness to avoid
implementing antiracist practices in the classroom. Elementary classroom teachers participating
in a program intended to build relationships between their historically underserved students and
students attending a nearby well-resourced school, were enthusiastic regarding opportunities for
border crossing but hesitant to raise conversations of race. Teachers questioned the value of
surfacing topics of race in the classroom; suggested elementary students look past or are unaware
of difference; indicated elementary students were too young to speak about race; privileged the
readiness of white students to engage in race-based conversations; and asserted negative effects
of talking about race in the elementary classroom (Epstein, 2019).
The literature regarding inservice teacher racical identity development also reveals the
complexity of developing a White antiracist identity. Challenges include the danger of centering
Whiteness even when the goal is to critique rather than reify it, managing the nonlinear process
of White racial identity development, managing emotions that arise when challenged about racist
behaviors by students and/or colleagues of color, and acknowledging the complexity of being
26

committed to antiracist actions while simultaneously benefiting from Whiteness (Blaisdell, 2016;
Coles-Ritchie & Smith, 2017; Mallott et al., 2017; McManimon & Casey, 2019).
Recommendations for practice and/or further research include providing time for
inservice teachers to process, reflect and revisit conversations as a necessary component of
developing race-visible skills (Katch, 2019). The literature also suggests moving away from the
neoliberal onslaught of diversity trainings (McManimon & Casey, 2019). Finally, it is essential
to contextualize schools within the larger systems and structures of power, center the lived
experiences of educators (including their formative experiences), and maintain an action
orientation .
Anti-Racist Pedagogy
Historical Approaches to Race Visible Teaching
Tracing the historical roots of race-visible teaching practices is necessary for
documenting the ongoing struggle of students of color to receive an equitable education,
exploring possible gaps in prior efforts, and contextualizing the natural emergence of anti-racist
teaching as a “more potent alternative” (Sleeter, 2018) to prior attempts at race visible teaching.
What follows is a brief review of multicultural education and culturally responsive pedagogy and
their contributions to , and shortcomings in, producing equitable learning outcomes for students
of color.
Multicultural Education (MCE)
Multicultural education first emerged in the 1970s, following the desegregation of U.S.
public schools, and in response to racism (Sleeter, 2018) and disparate educational outcomes
experienced by African-American students (Nieto, 2017). However, researchers give credit to
27

the earlier writings of DuBois and Woodson, among others, for their attempts to surface the
struggle of African Americans in civic life and public education (Nieto, 2017; Sleeter, 2018).
At its inception, multicultural education was intended to be a direct challenge to public
education’s Eurocentric focus and curriculum, as well as to the starkly uneven educational
outcomes that disproportionately impacted students who were persistently marginalized owing to
their race, ethnicity, native language, and social class (Sleeter, 2018). As a political movement,
multicultural education sought to ensure social justice for underserved and disenfranchised
students. Furthermore, it acknowledged attempts to attain social justice can be attained only by
means of a widespread school reform and through the critical investigation of systems of power
and privilege (Sleeter, 2018).
Current conceptualizations of multicultural education emphasize cross-cultural
appreciation (Sleeter, 2018) and fail to explicitly address power dynamics (Nieto, 2017).
Furthermore, multicultural education depoliticizes race, uses culture as its proxy (Lynch et al.,
2017), and does not engage White teachers in intentionally exploring their or their students’
racialized identities. As it currently stands, superficial aspects of diversity, rather than
institutional policies and practices, have come to be synonymous with multicultural education
and overshadowed its true goal of exposing power dynamics that maintain systems of hegemony
and White supremacy (Sleeter, 2018).
Culturally Relevant/Responsive/Sustaining Pedagogies
Culturally Responsive/Relevant/Sustaining Pedagogies seek first and foremost to
improve learning outcomes for ethnically and linguistically diverse students. These approaches
center the cultural experiences of the students to provide relevant teaching and learning
experiences and seek to develop students’ critical consciousness by interrogating the status quo
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(Gay, 2002; Ladson-Billings, 2021). Successful implementation of these practices assumes
teachers have high expectations for students, are skilled at scaffolding learning by building on
students’ cultural and linguistic assets, are self-aware and learn about their students’
backgrounds, and see education as a means to liberation by developing their students’ socio-
political consciousness (Dixson, 2021).
However, even with an explicitly critical approach to teaching and learning, culturally
responsive pedagogies have been faulted for failing to name and explicitly teach about race and
racism, White privilege and structural inequities (Galloway et al, 2020). Additionally, educators
often mistake the purpose of culturally responsive teaching as a tool for making students feel
comfortable and/or ensuring all student voices are heard. While these are certainly important
elements for any classroom teacher to attend to, they do not represent the broader liberatory
purpose of culturally responsive teaching practices (Dixson, 2021). Thus, an incomplete
understanding of culturally responsive pedagogies has resulted in a singular focus on acquiring
teaching strategies (Dixson, 2021) and implementation in a racially colorblind context-which has
also served to diminish its effectiveness (Knowles & Hawkman, 2019).
Goals of Anti-Racist Pedagogy/Practices/Approaches
Anti-racist education seeks to transform structural inequities by identifying racism as an
organizing principle of the social, political, and economic structure of society (Kishimoto, 2018;
Knowles & Hawkman, 2019). Furthermore, anti-racist education recognizes that racism operates
through personal and structural prejudice (Lynch et al., 2017) and centers structural forms of
racism, power relations, and social justice as the primary site of study to critically examine the
systemic features that organize life prospects (Kishimoto, 2018; Knowles & Hawkman, 2019).
In addition to making systemic oppression visible, anti-racist education challenges the denial of
29

complicity for upholding Whiteness and White supremacy, centers marginalized voices,
decenters dominant voices, by placing emphasis on the development of a critical consciousness,
and works to take action to transform authoritarian structures (Lynch et al., 2017).
As anti-racism functions to transform structural inequities, schools can and should look
beyond mere teaching and learning practices to uncover and dismantle additional systems and
structures that persistently marginalize students of color (Kishmoto, 2018). Lopez & Gaetane
(2021) asserts that schools should also actively find spaces to challenge anti-Black racism such
as assessment, evaluation, and school discipline practices. Chikkatur (2021), reinforces the
importance of this notion in her study of a secondary charter school that purported a commitment
to social justice but disproportionately suspended its heavily recruited students of color.
Anti-racist education is not without its critics who assert anti-racist education is divisive
and encourages resentment (Blum, 1999; Zorn, 2018). Additionally, some educators believe that
students are too young to engage in race-visible conversations noting, in particular, that such
conversations would be difficult for White students in the classroom (Buchanan, 2015; Epstein
2019). However, anti-racist pedagogues counter that no such allowances or considerations are
made for underserved students whose lived experience reinforce structural and systemic
inequities daily (Epstein, 2019) and further assert that not discussing race and racism is equally
harmful (Gibson & Jamison, 2021).
Anti-Racist Pedagogy/Practices/Approaches-Methods
Much of the literature regarding anti-racist teaching approaches concerns higher
education, teacher educators, and preservice teachers (Lynch et al., 2017); however, there is a
dearth of literature regarding anti-racist education with children (Arneback, 2019; Lynch, 2017).
Nevertheless, the general approaches and strategies identified for implementing anti-racist
30

practices have broad applicability to TK-12 contexts. Kishimoto (2018) identifies five general
teacher approaches/methods for implementing anti-racist practices in the classroom. 1) Disrupt
positivistic thinking by challenging ahistorical and Eurocentric curriculum; 2) require students to
make connections to, and see themselves as part of, the topics being discussed by actively
naming race and racism; 3) decenter authority by building class community trust to equalize the
power differential; 4) challenge both what and how content is being taught and emphasize
engagement, interaction, and problem-solving versus banking; 5) and commit to collaboration
while recognizing approaches cannot be applied in exactly the same manner in every classroom.
A typology of anti-racist actions, drawn from observations of 27 Swedish teachers found
the most common anti-racist approaches emphasized responses to individual racism and failed to
account for analysis of structural systems of power that perpetuate racism in public education
(Arneback & Jamte, 2021). Anti-racist teaching actions that emphasize individual acts include
modeling acceptance and intergroup harmony and developing relationships with students to
diminish the likelihood of causing offense and judging non-White students. Actions that
critically assessed racism and White supremacy in structures, systems, and institutions included
making underling structures visible and challenging and critiquing norms and power structures.
The study concluded by asserting that the complexity of racism requires a range of anti-racist
actions. This assertion appears to be supported by many researchers who warn against cookie-
cutter approaches to implementing race-visible teaching practices (Dixson, 2021).
One frequently cited strategy to address the complexity of implementing an anti-racist
praxis is proactively engaging parents. This will be discussed further as a general school support
factor for implementing anti-racist teaching practices. Gibson and Jamison (2021) posit that
being an anti-racist educator requires building relationships with families to acknowledge their
31

salient identities. Parents can serve as allies when conversations take unexpected turns in the
classroom and provide support and education to their students at home to reinforce the classroom
learning. Additionally, proactively communicating with parents can also serve to build trust for
making race visible especially in elementary classrooms (Katch, 2019). As children are
primarily racialized by their parents, strategies to implement anti-racist teaching must account
for contrary racial messages being delivered in the home and prepare for resistance from White
parents who “police the non-White zone of their children out of shame (Miller & Tanner, 2019)
as well as parents of color who are uncomfortable with the idea of their children serving as
spokespersons for all children of color (Katch, 2019).
Anti-Racist Pedagogy/Practices/Approaches-Materials
In a review of studies regarding anti-racist education conducted between 2000-2015,
common pedagogical approaches/instructional strategies appear to be very similar to approaches
suggested for use with preservice teachers: using prescribed texts and written reflections, and
composing autobiographies and ethnographies (Hambacher, 2018; Lynch et al., 2017).
Hambacher (2018) conducted a review of 39 studies that address race visible teaching practices
and identified reflection papers, online discussions, culminating projects and interviews as the
most commonly used instructional approaches. Hambacher (2018) further suggests the use of
literature to center historical perspectives that are often left out, multimedia to interrupt tacit
understandings of race, and autobiographies and ethnographies to engage in self-reflection.
In order for anti-racist practices in the classroom to be effective, approaches must go
beyond one-off lessons, units or teacher workshops and be embedded in ongoing teaching and
learning practices (Dixson, 2021; Kishimoto, 2018; Lopez & Gaetane, 2021; Gibson & Jamison,
2021). Additionally, it is not sufficient to merely provide texts written by authors of color; rather
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critical literacy must be a central instructional practice that is embedded in the course of study.
Finally, students must begin with an exploration of their identity and consideration of who they
desire to be prior to engaging with anti-racist teaching and learning (Ebarvia, 2021).
Other School Based Influences on Anti-Racist Teaching
Teachers’ decisions to discuss race are influenced by feelings of preparedness (i.e.,
pedagogy) and personal beliefs and experiences (i.e., racial identity development). In addition,
administrative support, and the influence of students’ parents (although underexplored) are also
named as factors that influence teachers’ decisions to discuss race and racism (Delale-O’Connor,
2019; Priest et al., 2016). Thus, the exploration of other school-based factors that influence anti-
racist teaching will focus on the literature regarding the impact of administrative support as well
as the influence of parents. Teaching does not exist in a vacuum, and teaching and learning
decisions are informed by broader structures beyond training and personal beliefs. Furthermore,
support from school administration and parents are identified as key factors for including lessons
about cultural diversity and racism in the curriculum (Priest et al., 2016).
Research indicates that while most teachers agree the topic of race is important to
discuss, and teachers should discuss racism and discrimination with students, most teachers are
not sure if parents support race-visible conversations in class. Factors that influence teachers’
decisions to discuss race include perceptions of specific family dynamics (i.e., racial and political
identities) and context (i.e., geography), teachers self-identified characteristics, experience, and
relationships with parents; and the perceived relevance of race-visible conversations to the
content area being taught (Delale-O’Connor, 2019).
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Parental Attitudes Toward Race Based Conversations
Parents play a pivotal role in the racial socialization of their children (Hagerman, 2017;
Priest et al., 2016; Underhill, 2017), and contrary to the beliefs of some parents and educators,
children notice and attach meaning to race differences from an early age (Priest et al., 2016).
However, in a study of 40 White middle class parents, most parents adopted a neutral colorblind
frame and only two participants indicated they intentionally discussed issues of power and
privilege. Those who avoided race-based conversations claimed they did so to create protected
and worry-free experiences for their children and asserted that topics of race were either
conversationally inappropriate and/or immaterial to their children’s lives; however, researchers
conclude that such protective measures reproduce White normativity and color blindness
(Underhill, 2017). In a study of 107 White mothers, whose children were aged 4-7, parents who
avoided conversations regarding race claimed race was not an issue, espoused a preference for
treating everyone the same, indicated students are colorblind and do not notice race, stated they
preferred to raise their children as colorblind, and/or posited their children were too young for
conversations about race and racism (Vittrup, 2018). Additionally, among the 70% of
participants who indicated they adopted a colorblind approach to discussing race and racism,
they indicated topics of race and racism were only discussed when their children raised the topic
or if the issue came up and could not be avoided (Vittrup, 2018).
Researchers have also explored the specific impact of White fathers on their children’s
racial identity development and participation in racial socialization. A study of eight affluent
fathers who professed a commitment to raising anti-racist children revealed evidence of
concerted efforts to create opportunities for intergroup contact but an absence of the
interrogation of structural privilege. Common approaches to raising anti-racist children included
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promoting interracial friendships, using strangers to teach privilege, and encouraging children to
stand up to individual acts of racism (Hagerman, 2017).
While White parents often espouse colorblind approaches to racism, researchers assert
African American parents engage in very intentional conversations regarding race and racism.
Hughes typology of ethnic racial socialization identifies four approaches to racial socialization:
cultural socialization emphasizes cultural pride; preparation for bias surfaces an awareness of
discrimination; promotion of mistrust is most common among outgroups; and egalitarianism
promotes shared humanity (Doucet, 2018). A study of 26 African American parents found that
parents of color proactively provide preparation for bias messages to mitigate discrimination
whereas egalitarian messages are more prevalent among non-African American parents.
However, working class parents African American parents were more likely to espouse
egalitarian messages than middle class African American parents who also provided preparation
for bias messages (Doucet, 2018).
These findings, which emphasize the different approaches of Black and White parents to
addressing race and racism in the home, have significant implications for teachers’ practices in
the classroom. Given that White parents are less likely to engage in race-visible conversations
with their children, teachers must work to build relationships with all parents (without
unintentionally centering the comfort of White parents), communicate regarding the
philosophical underpinnings of their teaching approaches, and articulate how, why, and when
race-visible conversations, activities, and curricula will be introduced to the class. These
strategies can serve to mitigate resistance they will likely receive from parents. These findings
also reinforce the importance of support from site leadership when challenged about their
instructional approaches.
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School Leadership Supports for Anti-Racist Teaching
Reviewing the entire body of literature regarding anti-racist leadership is beyond the
scope of this review and research study; however, understanding the ways in which anti-racist
classroom practices are influenced by the school contexts of which they are a part is important
for identifying systems and structures that support and sustain the development of anti-racist
practices at the classroom level. Achieving racial equity requires changes at both the individual
and institution (i.e., school or district) level (Welton et al., 2018), and site leaders play a critical
role in facilitating structural level change.
When school leaders foster an anti-racist environment for all, cultivate the development
and implementation of anti-racist curriculum, hire diverse faculty and staff, encourage
participation and perspectives, and bolster relationships with equity-focused partners, they
position themselves to implement system-level anti-racist change, and support the efforts of
individual classroom teachers (Welton et al., 2018). Equity-focused leaders also use data,
disaggregated by student groups to make decisions (Murray-Johnson & Guerra, 2018), and
critically examine organizational level policies for institutional bias to make structural changes
that are accountable to outcomes of equity (Miller, 2021).
A study of an elementary school’s efforts to development and implement a K-5 anti-bias
curriculum explored the pivotal role of the site principal. After assessing the current state of
student learning for the students of color, the principal facilitated professional learning for all
staff. This learning included book clubs and workshops provided by guest speakers as well as
the creation of time and space to process new learning. Following extensive professional
learning, the site leader engaged all staff in making the decision to develop a schoolwide anti-
bias curriculum. In this way, the leader created opportunities for collective ownership and the
36

development of leadership capacity. The leader also made intentional efforts to diversify the
school’s staff by hiring more men and educators of color to the teaching ranks as well as
recruiting additional counselors to reflect the demographics of the school population. Finally, the
principal made important structural changes for the school, including the designation of a weekly
time block for the anti-bias lessons (Kimura, 2021). These findings are supported by Khalifa et
al. (2016), who conducted an extensive review of literature regarding culturally responsive
leadership practices and highlighted the role principals play in maintaining culturally responsive
school environments. Site leaders recruit and retain culturally responsive teachers, procure
culturally responsive resources and curriculum, model critical self-reflection and culturally
responsive practices, and secure professional learning. Site leaders must also develop skills to
guide teachers through difficult conversations about race and potentially counsel educators, who
are unwilling or unable to change their practices, out of the profession.
Teacher Efficacy
Teacher efficacy is a key variable of Social Cognitive Theory and refers to an
individual’s personal beliefs regarding their abilities to learn or perform actions at designated
levels (Schunk, 2020). An early scholar of teacher-efficacy studies, Rotter posited teacher
efficacy was the extent to which teachers believed that they could control the reinforcement of
their actions and specifically whether reinforcement lay within themselves or the environment
(Tschannen-Moran et al., 1998). Building on that work, Bandura asserted that an individual’s
behaviors are also influenced not only by general expectancies for control but also by their
perceived capabilities to perform the behaviors in specific contexts. While response-outcome
expectancies refer to estimates that a certain behavior will lead to certain outcomes, self-efficacy
37

expectations refer to a person’s belief that they have the abilities to produce such actions (Zee &
Koomen, 2016).
There are four main sources of teacher self-efficacy (Clark, 2020; Schunk, 2020; Siwatu,
2011). Mastery experience involves performing the actual task and is thought to be the most
influential source of efficacy building as it provides concrete evidence of ability to implement
actions to produce a desired outcome (Siwatu, 2011). Vicarious experience includes observing a
model (Siwatu, 2011), which raises self-efficacy and achievement more than observing a non-
peer model or no model at all (Morris et al., 2017; Schunk, 2020). Additionally, exposure to
multiple models will increase the probability that observers perceive themselves as similar to at
least one model. Verbal persuasion serves as a source of efficacy when the messages are
positive; conversely, negative messages weaken self-efficacy (Siwatu, 2011). Finally, one’s
physiological/affective states, such as stress, fatigue and anxiety, can influence one’s
interpretations of their abilities in a given situation; however, moderate levels of arousal can
result in optimal performance (Morris, 2017). Schunk (2020) asserts building content knowledge
is another source of self-efficacy specifically for teachers, but Siwatu (2011) and Morris (2017)
add that knowledge alone is not sufficient to increase self-efficacy.
Highly efficacious inservice teachers engage in professional learning and subsequently
use the knowledge and skills they acquire from these experiences; work collaboratively with
colleagues to improve and increase data-driven decision making; are more proactive in
implementing behavior management strategies; have more positive attitudes toward cultural and
linguistic classroom diversity; and exhibit a higher regard for student perspectives (Zee &
Koomen, 2016). Common practices among highly efficacious preservice teachers include higher
levels of control over externalizing student behaviors, more positive classroom management
38

strategies, and increased learner-centered and constructivist approaches to teaching (Zee &
Koomen, 2016).
Teacher efficacy is understood to be both context and subject-matter specific (Glock &
Kleen, 2019; Siwatu, 2011); therefore, a teacher may feel more confident in their abilities in one
domain of practice or content area but less confident in another. This distinction is crucial as it
relates to the exploration of anti-racist teaching practices in the elementary classroom. Teachers
who may feel generally efficacious in their abilities in the areas of instructional practices,
classroom management, and student engagement, may feel less confident in their abilities to
produce these same outcomes for students of color specifically.
Culturally Responsive Teaching Efficacy
Owing to the persistently disparate educational outcomes for students of color, scholars
assert a need to implement pedagogies that are responsive to the specific learning needs of
racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse students. As previously stated, these pedagogies
center the importance of improving student learning outcomes, capitalize on students’ cultural
backgrounds to maximize learning, and seek to develop their critical consciousness (Gay, 2002;
Ladson-Billings, 2021). A teacher’s belief in his or her capabilities to execute the practices
associated with culturally responsive teaching (Siwatu, 2007) is referred to as culturally
responsive teaching self-efficacy. Studies which explore the measurement, development and
impact of culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy have been conducted with inservice and
preservice teachers.
Strategies for Building Culturally Responsive Teacher Self-Efficacy
Building culturally responsive teacher self-efficacy among teachers develops competence
and confidence by combining newly learned skills with beliefs to use those skills (Siwatu et al.,
39

2011). Field experiences (i.e., mastery experiences), simulations, role playing, demonstrations,
and case studies are examples of strategies that build preservice teachers’ culturally responsive
teaching self-efficacy (Siwatu et al., 2011). Efficacy-building strategies for instructing African
American students include: allowing teachers to practice culturally responsive teaching skills
acquired during training, by using strategies such as microteaching, leverages mastery
experience, and verbal persuasion (i.e., immediate feedback) as sources of efficacy (Siwatu, et
al., 2011) Structuring clinical experiences so that preservice teachers progress through classroom
observation, one-on-one student support, co-planning, co-teaching, and then teach lessons
independently leverages vicarious and enactive mastery experiences. However, as teachers move
through these phases, it is crucial they are in classrooms with African American students as
preservice efficacy beliefs are often based on ideal classroom settings (Siwatu et al., 2011).
Pairing novice teachers with experienced mentors through scaffolded induction experiences
engages mastery experiences, verbal persuasion, and psychological/affective states. This is
particularly important as research asserts culturally responsive teacher self-efficacy declines
within the first year of inservice teaching (Clark, 2020).
A study exploring the impact of participation in a community embedded teacher
preparation program reported statistically significant gains in culturally responsive teacher self-
efficacy at the end compared to the beginning of the semester (Thomas et al., 2020). Elements of
the program that appeared to increase culturally responsive teacher self-efficacy included
intentional clinical placement in diverse and high poverty schools; taking classes in locations
within the community in which students were working; learning from parents about the cultural
assets of their students and the community; receiving support from community mentors; and
attending community events, participating in community center projects, and engaging in weekly
40

courageous conversations with community mentors. All of these actions served to privilege the
funds of knowledge that existed in the local community, in which the school placement was
located, and intentionally engaged parents and community members as partners and teachers in
the professional development of the teacher candidates.
Assessing High and Low Culturally Responsive Teacher Self-Efficacy
Quantitative studies of culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy commonly use
Siwatu’s Culturally Responsive Teaching Self-Efficacy (CRTSE) Scale. The scale consists of 40
items that measure knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy in the areas of curriculum and instruction,
classroom management, student assessment, and cultural enrichment. However, it should be
noted the scale does not measure efficacy for developing students’ critical consciousness of
barriers that perpetuate disparities (Cruz, 2020). Overall, teachers reported high levels of
efficacy in areas of curriculum and instruction (e.g., designing instruction to match students’
developmental needs and using a variety of teaching methods) but low efficacy scores in areas
involving specific cultural knowledge and building home-to-school connections (e.g., greeting
English learners in their native language and implementing strategies to minimize the effects of
mismatch between students’ home culture and school culture). Additionally, teachers of color
showed more positive implicit attitudes toward students of color, were more enthusiastic, and
reported higher specific self-efficacy beliefs regarding teaching culturally diverse students
(Glock & Kleen, 2019). Similarly, a quantitative study of 344 teachers from urban school
districts in Texas explored the relationship between culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy
and special education programs (Chu & Shernaz, 2018). Participants rated themselves most
highly in areas of creating and supporting learning environments and using a variety of teaching
methods. Conversely, SPED teachers rated themselves lowest in the area of critically examining
41

curriculum to determine the extent to which it appropriately represented culturally and
linguistically diverse groups. The results of the study also revealed participants were confident
about their own skills but uncertain about external factors such as home and community. A
study of 26 elementary teachers in the Midwest also revealed low efficacy for carrying out
culturally responsive tasks, supporting English learners and making cultural curricular
connections (Malo-Juvera et al., 2018).
Siwatu’s (2016) mixed methods study sought to build on mere identification of the areas
of low and high culturally responsive teacher self-efficacy and understand the reasons for
participants’ beliefs. Preservice teachers were least confident in their ability to execute culturally
responsive teaching tasks in the areas of showing how other cultural groups have made use of
mathematics and contributed to science as well as identifying linguistic and cultural bias in
standardized tests (Siwatu et al., 2016). When asked to explain the reasoning for their self-
efficacy doubts, participants stated that while they believed the culturally responsive teaching
strategies would work, their lack of knowledge regarding student diversity and culturally
responsive pedagogy and their experiences observing and working in diverse educational settings
caused them to doubt their ability to execute the strategies effectively (Siwatu et al., 2016).
Understanding the reasons for teachers’ culturally responsive self-efficacy beliefs is as important
as identifying the areas themselves. Knowing the reasons for beliefs and doubts is crucial for
designing experiences and providing resources and supports to improve teacher self-efficacy and
practice.
These studies reinforce the domain specificity of teacher self-efficacy. The studies
revealed a common theme of teachers feeling least efficacious for carrying out tasks that
involved attending to students’ culture in the classroom but highly efficacious for carrying out
42

general teaching tasks (i.e. designing curriculum and using a variety of instructional strategies).
General teaching abilities can provide a strong foundation on which to build practices to impact
learning outcomes for racially diverse students; however, racial and cultural differences must be
explicitly attended to in order to build culturally responsive teacher self-efficacy.
Conclusion
When placed in a historical context, the persistently disparate outcomes experienced by
students of color are understood to be the natural consequence of systemic, structural and
institutional practices that have persistently denied them access to equitable educational
opportunities. African-American students thrived academically when educated in a system
created, staffed and supported by educators who shared their racialized identity (Anderson,
1998), and contemporary literature reinforces the benefits of race-matching students and teachers
(Redding, 2019; Yarnell & Bohrnstedt, 2017). However, federal educational policies have not to
date addressed the implications of the mismatch between an increasingly diverse student
population and the predominantly White and female teacher corps; rather, factors such as parent
income, education, and involvement are often cited as reasons for the underachievement of
students of color. As a result, attempts at improving educational outcomes for minoritized youth
have emphasized colorblind approaches, that ignore structural obstacles faced by students of
color, and their families, and given states broad latitude to determine their own metrics of
success.
Studies seeking to understand the impact of colorblindness in public education have
turned their attention to classroom teachers, who are predominantly White and female. As a
result, there is a growing body of literature that asserts the imperative of preservice and inservice
teachers to interrogate the implications of their White racialized identities in relationship to their
43

teaching practices. The evolution of Critical Whiteness Studies demonstrates a growing
recognition of the existence of structural racism and the impact of racialized identities in
teaching; the need to uncloak and transform (or abolish) Whiteness as a necessary step toward
achieving educational equity; and the nonlinear and continuous path toward developing a
positive racialized identity. Given that the research regarding racialized identity development has
predominantly focused on preservice teachers as the site of study, the exploration of anti-racist
pedagogy is also primarily conducted in higher education contexts. While the principles,
strategies and approaches (challenging ahistorical and Eurocentric curriculum, actively naming
race and racism, equalizing classroom power differentials, and building a critical consciousness)
are generally applicable to PK-12 contexts, this gap in the literature necessitates further study
where a broad range of subjects are taught (including those that may not appear to naturally lend
themselves to race-based conversations) and considerations of developmentally appropriate
curriculum and instructional delivery are warranted.
A full exploration of anti-racist leadership actions is beyond the scope of this study;
however, examining leadership actions, and other school-based influences, that directly support
or hinder the efforts of anti-racist classroom teachers is appropriate. Teaching does not exist in a
vacuum and site and district leaders are responsible for shaping the context in which teaching
and learning occurs. Leader actions that support the implementation of anti-racist classroom
practices include procuring resources and professional development, attending to diverse staff
hiring, and facilitating system level change through an interrogation of structures, policies and
practices. Research also identifies parents as key partners in the education process as their beliefs
and attitudes influence the efforts of anti-racist teachers. While White parents are more likely to
advance colorblind approaches to addressing race and racism, African American parents are
44

more likely to directly address topics of race and racism with their children. As such, anti-racist
classroom teachers must be attentive to building relationships with all families, communicating
proactively regarding race-visible teaching and learning, and anticipating parent resistance to
naming race and racism in the classroom.
The role of teacher self-efficacy cannot be understated in developing and implementing
race-visible teaching practices. Efficacy is recognized as domain specific; thus, generally high
efficacy for teaching does not automatically translate into high efficacy for teaching students of
color. Consideration of the role of teacher self-efficacy is critical for understanding why some
teachers choose to implement race-visible classroom practices and others, who serve in the same
context and have access to the same resources and supports, do not. Research asserts cognitive
knowledge in and of itself does not necessarily translate into sustained practice. Rather, teachers
must first feel they are able to bring about the results they seek and build their beliefs through
doing, seeing, receiving feedback and experiencing physiological responses. In the next chapter,
methods utilized to answer the research questions will be addressed.

45

Chapter Three: Methodology
Statement of the Problem
Equity and opportunity gaps for students of color are not being closed despite well-
intentioned, educational state and federal reform efforts (Cross, 2014; Mehta, 2013), and
disparate outcomes in academic achievement persist into adulthood with serious implications for
health, housing, and employment (DataQuest; Ladson-Billings, 2006; Myers et al., 2016;
Torpey, 2018). The California School Dashboard reports that in 2019, 23.7% of African-
American high school graduates were deemed college and career ready compared to 36.1% of
Hispanic/LatinX students, 53.8% of White students, and 74% of Asian students.
Furthermore, as the student population in California public schools is becoming
increasingly diverse, the public education teaching force in California remains predominantly
White and female. Approximately, 54% of California public school students are
Hispanic/LatinX, 5.3% are African-American, 60.7% are economically disadvantaged, and
18.6% are English learners (California School Dashboard). Although research asserts that
students of color who experience educators of their same race perform better than when their
teachers are predominantly White (Redding, 2019; Yarnell & Bohrnstedt, 2017), 60% of all
California teachers are White and 74% of those White teachers are women (DataQuest).
Classroom teachers play the most significant role in improving student learning outcomes
and closing performance gaps for students of color (Buddin & Zamarro, 2009; Hattie, 2008;
Leithwood, 2019); however, teachers, who are predominantly White and female, are often ill-
prepared (through preservice or in-service training) to understand the historical, economic, and
political implications of structural racism for teaching and learning. Neither are they equipped to
46

interrogate their racialized identities which uphold racist norms, values and practices and
perpetuate disparate outcomes for minoritized students (Picower, 2009; Sleeter, 2018).
Purpose of the Study
This study sought to understand how elementary teachers develop and implement anti-
racist teaching practices by examining the impact of teacher racial-identity development, anti-
racist instructional approaches, school-based influences, and anti-racist teaching self-efficacy.
The study asked the following research questions:
1. What experiences influence the racialized identity development of elementary anti-racist
practitioners?
2. What teaching and learning approaches do anti-racist elementary teachers employ with
students?
3. How do elementary teachers perceive their anti-racist efforts are influenced by factors
outside their classroom?
4. How do elementary teachers perceive their efficacy for anti-racist teaching?
Sample and Population
Happy Trails Unified School District (HTUSD, a pseudonym) is a small suburban K-12
school district located in northern California. The district enrolls approximately 3500 students
and is composed of three elementary schools, one middle school, one high school, and one
continuation high school. Happy Trails Unified School District is located within a diverse
community that enjoys broad support for diversity, equity, inclusion, and multiculturalism.
According to the CA School Dashboard, approximately 29% of the district’s students are White,
29% are Asian, 17% are Hispanic/LatinX; 14% are multi-racial and 3% are African American.
47

In recent years, the district has undertaken a number of equity-centered initiatives-
including culturally responsive teaching and the development and implementation of social
justice standards. Following an open forum on race, in response to the killing of George Floyd in
spring 2020, the district launched a series of anti-racist teaching workshops during the 2020-
2021 school year. The workshops were designed for elementary certificated teachers to build
common knowledge around concepts such as identity and racism (structural, institutional, and
personal), develop an understanding of allyship, and provide strategies for taking action against
racism. During the current school year, 2021-2022, the district has facilitated a series of
districtwide collaboration meetings for elementary teachers to develop and share resources being
used at each site and grade level.
HTUSD provides an appropriate site for study given that anti-racist work has been
undertaken previously, and teachers have some general awareness of concepts around race,
racism, and anti-racist teaching. Additionally, not unlike other districts, HTUSD has
experienced instances of racism, antisemitism, and misogyny in it secondary schools. These
incidents have reinforced the harm racism can inflict on a school community and highlight the
need to explicitly address race and racism systemwide. Also, not unlike other districts in
California, statewide summative assessment results, in English/language arts and mathematics,
reveal performance gaps between White and Asian students and students identified as
Black/African-American and Hispanic/LatinX.
Instrumentation
To understand how HTUSD elementary teachers develop and enact anti-racist practices, a
mixed methods study, incorporating qualitative and quantitative methodologies, was designed.
The original study design used a quantitative-leading (explanatory sequential) fixed design
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(Lochmiller & Lester, 2017). The literature regarding race-visible teaching practices is primarily
qualitative; however, quantitative studies have been conducted, and several studies have also
implemented a mixed methods design. One such example, which has been used frequently to
explore culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy, is Siwatu’s Culturally Responsive Teaching
Self-Efficacy Scale (CRTSE). Qualitative metrics provide data that can be used to make broad
statements regarding a fairly large sample. Quantitative metrics are useful to provide context,
color, and nuance to the qualitative data.
The first phase of this study was designed to gather data on anti-racist and nonracist
efficacy and generate an assessment of anti-racist efficacy districtwide among TK-5 certificated
teachers. The study identified Knowles and Hawkman’s Racialized Teaching Efficacy and
Racial Fragility Scales as the survey instrument. The purpose of selecting these scales was their
explicit focus on anti-racist teaching efficacy and the researcher’s stated goal of developing and
implementing the scales to better understand “the nuances of non-racist, colorblind teaching in
pursuit of moving the field toward an agentic, anti-racist stance in classrooms” (Knowles &
Hawkman, 2020).
The second phase of the study involved conducting semi-structured interviews with 5-8
participants who completed the survey. Semi-structured interviews were designed to gather
detailed information about how teachers develop an anti-racist praxis. The interviews asked
participants to reflect on the topics presented in each of the four research questions: racialized
identity development, anti-racist instructional strategies and approaches, perceived influences
on/support for their anti-racist practices, and sources of their anti-racist efficacy. Semi-structured
interviews were an appropriate method as they promote the inclusion of participant voice as a
strategy for implementing socially just and ethical research practices (Atkins & Duckworth,
49

2019). They also help the researcher “deepen, enlighten or explore particular ideas, concepts or
concerns” (Lochmiller & Lester, 2017, p.217). In this particular instance, semi-structured
interviews were also deemed appropriate as they created space for the conversation to open up a
range of topics. The level of detail needed to inform further study, or other schools and districts,
is best captured through qualitative methodologies. This study used a non-probability approach
to include the participation of as many viable participants as possible and prevent too small a
sample size (Merriam &Tisdale 2016).
Data Collection
Following IRB approval, a request to conduct the study was sent to the district’s
Superintendent. Once district approval was granted, a letter, introducing the purpose of the study,
and inviting participation in the survey and semi-structured interviews was sent via email to the
district’s three elementary principals. All three elementary principals agreed to share the letter
with their certificated elementary teachers via their weekly newsletters. There are approximately
75 certificated elementary teachers in HTUSD. All certificated elementary teachers were invited
to complete the survey (Racialized Teaching Efficacy and Racial Fragility Scales) and indicate
their willingness to participate in the semi-structured interviews. Participants who were
interested in participating in the interviews, indicated their preferred meeting day and time by
completing a Google Form. From those interested participants, 5-8 teachers (representing a range
of grade levels) were to be selected to participate in the semi-structured interviews. The letter
was shared with elementary principals on October 5, 2021, and then again on November 14,
2021. The survey remained open until December 17, 2021, and the interview participation form
remained open until December 3, 2021. Interviews were conducted in October, November and
December 2021. One participant indicated a willingness to participate; however, she was not
50

available to be interviewed until January 2022. Other participants did comment that, despite the
broad window for study participation, they were experiencing heavier than anticipated work
loads as a result of the ongoing pandemic. This resulted in some participants not being able to
participate in the interviews until December 2021.
A total of 13 survey responses were collected between October 5 and December 17,
2021. A total of eight teachers agreed to participate in the semi-structured interviews; thus, all
interested participants were included in the semi-structured interviews. Each interview lasted
approximately 60-90 minutes and was audio and video recorded. In order to ensure all
information provided for the study was held in the strictest confidence, interview recordings
were saved locally to a password protected device accessible only to the researcher. All records
will be destroyed once the study is published
Data Analysis
The process of qualitative data analysis followed the data analysis spiral described by
Creswell (2013). The data were organized, read, coded and themed, interpreted, and then
visualized or represented. With the permission of interview participants, the interviews were
audio and video recorded. This method of data collection provided great advantages for
organization as the actual interviews were reviewed multiple times during the data analysis
process (Creswell, 2013). The next step in the data analysis process involved reviewing each of
the interviews, immediately upon their conclusion, and constructing memos as an initial step to
becoming immersed in the information provided prior to conducting a more formal analysis. The
memos consisted of notes that reflected broad insights and the identification of possible themes
and categories as they related to the conceptual framework and research questions. The next
phase of the data analysis involved coding the data. Both a priori codes, that aligned with the
51

research questions, as well as emergent categories, that surfaced when reviewing the data, were
used to reflect the views of participants (Creswell, 2013). Lean coding was applied to manage
the data provided and surface the dominant themes from the interviews. Data were interpreted in
reference to the conceptual framework and the larger body of scholarly literature available on the
topic of anti-racist teaching practices. To ensure validity of the data, and that participants’ views
were accurately expressed, prior to publishing, responses were shared with participants who were
invited to particiate in a member checking process (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Summary
The purpose of the study was to understand the role of racial identity development,
classroom strategies, school influences, and teacher-efficacy in developing and enacting an anti-
racist teaching praxis in the elementary classroom. The study included a mixed methods
approach. Quantitative data were gathered through Knowles and Hawkman’s Anti-Racist
Efficacy and Fragility Scales. The purpose of the survey was to create a districtwide baseline
regarding perceived anti-racist efficacy. The survey remained open from October to mid-
December 2021; however, only 13 respondents completed the survey. As a result of the low
response rate, the survey results were not included in the study’s findings. Qualitative data were
gathered from semi-structured interviews with eight Happy Trails Unified School District
celementary teachers. The findings of this study will be presented in chapter four followed by a
discussion of the findings in chapter five.

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Chapter Four: Findings
The purpose of this study was to understand how elementary teachers develop and enact
anti-racist practices with their students and explored teacher racialized-identity development,
anti-racist teaching strategies, school-based supports, and teacher self-efficacy as contributing
factors. This study addressed a gap in the literature regarding anti-racist teaching practices in
PK-12 and explored the enactment of anti-racist teaching from the point of view of the classroom
practitioner to understand the supports and challenges teachers experience in transferring
knowledge into action. The results of this study can inform the identification of priorities for
systemwide strategic planning, including professional learning and procurement of teaching
resources. This study can also support the identification of desirable teacher traits, experiences,
skills, and dispositions to aid recruitment and retention efforts. For teacher education programs
who prepare predominantly White female teachers to serve in classrooms that are increasingly
racially and culturally diverse, this study can inform intentional race-visible program and course
development and clinical placements.
This chapter provides an overview of interview participants then presents the results of
the study arranged by the following research questions:
1. What experiences influence the racialized identity development of elementary anti-racist
practitioners?
2. What teaching and learning approaches do anti-racist elementary teachers employ with
students?
3. How do elementary teachers perceive their anti-racist efforts are influenced by factors
outside their classroom?
4. How do elementary teachers perceive their efficacy for anti-racist teaching?
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Participants
Eight participants were identified for this study. Following IRB approval, a request to
conduct the study was sent to the district’s Superintendent. Once district approval was granted, a
letter, introducing the purpose of the study and inviting participation, was sent via email to the
district’s elementary principals. All three elementary principals agreed to share the letter with
their certificated elementary staff via their weekly newsletters. Certificated elementary teachers
were invited to complete the survey and indicate their willingness to participate in a follow-up
semi-structured interview. Teachers who were interested in participating in a follow up survey
completed a Google Form indicating their preferred time and day to be interviewed. A total of
thirteen participants completed the survey; however, the small number of responses rendered any
possible results invalid. A total of eight participants agreed to participate in the semi-structured
interviews.
Six of the participants were elementary teachers serving students in 3
rd
, 4
th
or 5
th
grade
(two teachers per grade level). Two of the participants (who were both formerly elementary
classroom teachers in the district) were currently specialists serving students in the areas of
reading intervention and English language development. Specialists were included in the study
owing to their prominent use in Happy Trails Unified School District and the racial diversity of
the students they serve. All of the participants were female. Six of the participants self-identified
as White or White/multi-racial and two participants self-identified as non-White. The
participants’ total years of service in the district ranged from 5-10 to twenty-plus years, and the
average length of service in the district was 13 years. Pseudonyms are also used to protect
participants’ confidentiality.

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Table 1
Summary of Participants

Pseudonym Grade Level Taught Years of Service in
HTUSD
Carol 3rd 20 + years
Hope 5th 15-20 years
Jane 4th 5-10 years
Kate K-5th 20 + years
Maria 5th 5-10 years
Monica 4th 10-15 years
Natasha 3rd 5-10 years
Peggy K-5th 10-15 years

Results for Research Question 1: Racialized Identity Development
Conversations regarding race and education focus almost exclusively on the racialized
identities and experiences of students of color; however, enabling predominantly White
educators to develop an understanding of the impact of their racialized identities on their students
is necessary to transform teaching and learning and improve outcomes for students of color.
Such an understanding would enable White teachers to name the implications of their own
privilege in their classrooms, implement race-visible teaching practices, and identify and
challenge inequitable school practices that disparately impact non-White students (Durand &
Tavaras, 2021; Taylor, 2017; Utt & Tochluk, 2020). The purpose of asking participants to
reflect on their racialized identity development was to understand the degree to which they were
55

aware of, and could identify, their racialized identity. Additionally, participants were asked to
reflect on their identities in order to understand the extent to which they made explicit
connections between their racialized identities and the teaching practices they enact in the
classroom. When asked to reflect on their racialized identities, all participants surfaced personal
experiences and reflections that highlighted the following themes: 1) experiences as a racialized
other; 2) early social justice orientations; and 3) recognizing White privilege.
Experiences as a Racialized Other
Participants were asked to reflect on significant experiences that prepared them to teach
students of color. All participants surfaced memories from their adolescence and/or early
adulthood in which they had the experience of being in the racial minority. Participants made
connections between their experiences and the daily lived experiences of their students. That
almost all participants surfaced these similar experiences suggests the importance of inviting
ongoing critical self-reflection, in addition to other professional development strategies, as a
crucial element of anti-racist identity development.
Natasha reflected on the “few times in my life where I have been the only White person
and was so viscerally aware of it.” Specifically, she recalled her fear of going into a high school
class (at a diverse public high school) and being “the only White person in the class.” This
experience later led her to
often think about what it is like to be a person of color regularly in a room where they
are the only…I always took that with me, and when I would walk into UCLA, and there
was a lecture hall of 500 people, and there were three Black people who would walk into
that class, right?
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Natasha’s early fear of being in the minority, based on her racialized identity, gave her insight
into, and awareness of, what that experience might feel like for students of color in her
undergraduate classes and later in her classroom. While her high school experience was minute
compared to the daily lived experiences of minoritized youth, it served to build a sense of
empathy for her students of color.
Peggy’s experience as a racialized other occurred when she attended a Black church as an
assignment for her teaching credential program. The assignment required students to put
themselves in a situation where they were “kind of out of our realm.” Peggy recalled visiting the
church several times and trying to learn “what it was like to be in that situation and navigate.”
Peggy described the experience as eye opening “because I really didn't belong. It felt like I was
very much on the periphery, and I really had no idea how to step in and be part of the group.”
However, Peggy also noted “there were people there that were really welcoming and friendly”
including “one woman who noticed that I had come back a few times and, so yeah, I think that
was a really important experience.” Assignments such as the one Peggy described allow
participants to experience a fraction of the discomfort likely experienced by students of color in
schools where the curriculum, practices, and procedures perpetually center Whiteness and
minimize non-dominant racialized identities. Peggy’s experience, and her recollection of the one
woman who was welcoming to her, also highlights the importance of allyship and using one’s
insider status (i.e. privilege) to support those in racially minoritized outgroups.
Kate, who identifies as Jewish, experienced being in the minority early in her teaching
career where she recalls “being a minority and being different” and having a conversation with a
colleague about an element of the district curriculum. The response from her colleague, who
also identified as Jewish, was “Oh, you're not Jewish, are you? I wouldn't tell anyone if I were
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you.” According to Kate, her colleague’s comments were reinforced by her efforts to make the
greatest show of alignment to the dominant culture with her larger-than-life classroom Christmas
celebrations. Unlike Natasha and Peggy’s experiences, Kate’s experience of being explicitly
targeted for her minority status informed her understanding of how not to respond when faced
with diversity and difference. In reflecting on the impact of the experience, she indicated she is
cognizant to use language about dominant and non-dominant experiences as “some people do
this” rather make assumptions that all students share the same experiences. Such language serves
to normalize differences and diversity and affirm the identities of all students.
Participants might have referenced professional development sessions they attended,
books they read, social media posts they follow, or Podcasts to which they subscribed when
asked specifically about significant experiences that prepared them to teach students of color;
however, as demonstrated by the participants’ responses, personal stories of minoritization are a
powerful vehicle for building empathy and heightening awareness of the implications of social
constructions of race. The participants’ recollections emphasize the importance of inviting
teachers to be reflective about their formative experiences and explore connections between
these experiences and their values, behaviors, and beliefs as practitioners in the classroom.
Early Social Justice Orientations
Participants were not asked explicitly about social justice teaching; however, several
explicitly named their commitment to advancing social justice during their early adulthood
and/or early teaching careers. Social justice education, like anti-racist education, brings attention
to inequities and privilege faced by groups of people in the past as well as the present (Allee-
Herndon, et al., 2020). However, social justice education attends to achieving equity on a broad
range of issues such as gender, immigration, and class, in addition to race. Anti-racist education
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specifically centers race and racism as lenses through which to examine, and act against,
inequities and privilege. The participants’ reflections demonstrate that their early social justice
orientations appear to have provided a foundation on which to build their anti-racist identities by
giving them an equity focused lens in general and the ability to hone a racialized equity focused
lens in particular.
Natasha indicated she entered the teaching profession to “teach about social justice
issues.” However, she reflected that her social justice lens was honed more sharply toward an
anti-racist stance when, following the murder of George Floyd, she became aware that the
system of public education is not broken, but acts exactly as it was designed to confer advantage
to White racialized identities at the expense of others. As a result of this realization, Natasha
stated she had “an awakening despite thinking that I was somewhat in tune before” and
committed to be more intentional regarding her race-visible classroom practices. Had Natasha
not had an initial leaning toward social justice issues and teaching, she might not have been able
to recognize her self-perceived gaps and evolve her teaching practice to more intentionally center
topics of race and racism in her classroom.
Similarly, Carol traced the development of her anti-racist identity from her roots as a
social justice educator:
I feel like it is a part of my identity as someone who has always been driven to teach for
social justice reasons. I might not have used that word, I am an antiracist teacher as
explicitly as I do now, but that's always been inherent in my identity as an educator. I
think the part that I'm getting clearer and clearer on is specifically saying I am a teacher
who is working hard to dismantle anti-Black racism.
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Carol credited her increasing clarity to “constantly peeling off, like these clouds of White
supremacy, off your vision, and saying what’s the next layer that I can see…and just knowing
that is your forever work.” While social justice education does not require an inward
examination of the self in advocating issues of gender and class equity, Carol’s comments
reflected her understanding that developing a White anti-racist identity necessitates, not only
outward action, but also an ongoing interrogation of the ways in which one is bound up in
Whiteness. Her reflections also demonstrated her efforts to hone her focus, and clarify her
purpose, from social justice educator to anti-racist educator in pursuit of dismantling anti-Black
racism specifically.
Finally, Kate referenced her relocation to the area by saying: “I didn't end up here by
accident. People told me that I'd like it having that social justice lens that has just always been a
part of who I was even when I was younger.” Her earlier leanings toward social justice provided
the impetus for her to move to a community where she could engage with likeminded colleagues
and evolve her race-visible practices in collaboration with others whose values aligned with her
own. Her reflections reinforced the importance of being in micro and macro community to
implement the work of anti-racist teaching.
Recognizing White Privilege
When reflecting on their identities, and implications for their teaching, some participants
named their awareness of their White privilege. Additionally, and to varying degrees, they
articulated their understanding of the impact of their privilege on their students and shared
strategies they used to mitigate their privileged identities in the classroom.
When asked to reflect on the ways in which her identity informs her teaching, Carol
named her racialized identity as a “White woman” and stated that she explicitly refers to herself
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as a White woman when talking with her elementary students. By making her race visible to her
students, she hopes to make herself and her students more comfortable with normalizing race as
a “lens in the world” that goes well beyond differences in skin tone and hair texture. She further
articulated that she shares with her students how her racialized identity “makes these things
easier for me sometimes.” Carol’s awareness of her privilege, as “someone who’s always seen
myself reflected in all of the teaching I’ve ever had since the day I went walking into
kindergarten.” has several implications for her anti-racist practice. It heightens her understanding
of the fact that some of her students don’t have the experience of their racialized identities being
seen as the norm. It motivates her to include marginalized voices in her classroom, and it causes
her to contemplate how she can put herself in “learning situations that are not reflective of my
identity.” Carol awareness of the implications of her racialized identity, and her comments
demonstrated her commitment to interrogate her privilege and invite her students, who are just
coming into an understanding of their identities, to do the same.
A potential consequence of uninterrogated White privilege, surfaced in Natasha’s
comments, is the development of a White savior complex. This concept refers to the actions of
some White people who view themselves as able to rescue people in marginalized communities.
Examples of White saviorism include college students traveling to underdeveloped countries to
build houses, dig wells and teach students to read. In many ways, such actions serve only to
reinforce White privilege and perpetuate the oppression of those being aided-even when the
intentions of those providing aid are genuine. When Natasha reflected on the development of her
racialized identity, she recalled “feeling grateful for what I had” but admited she did not
necessarily view those feelings as indicative of her White privilege at the time. As a result of her
gratitude, and experiencing “this very good life,” she also expressed a desire to want to “give
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back.” Those beliefs appear to very noble, in and of themselves; however, Natasha went on to
describe that as she got older, she came to refine her understanding of the implications of her
gratitude and her desire to give back. Absent a willingness to interrogate her racialized identity,
Natasha might not have come to understood the ways in which her gratitude and desire to give
back, if unchecked, could perpetuate White privilege and saviorism.
Discussion for Research Question 1
The purpose of the first research question was to understand the experiences that
influenced the racialized identity development of the participants. Participants were asked to
name their identities and reflect specifically on the ways in which their identities inform their
teaching. When asked about significant experiences that prepared them to teach students of
color, all participants recounted at least one personal experience from their early adulthood or
early teaching careers. That participants shared prior personal experiences as the most
significant influence on their anti-racist practice, reinforces the salience of race for White people
(despite its rarely being named explicitly), the importance of critical self-reflection, and the value
of storytelling as a powerful medium for meaning making and building empathy. This finding is
reinforced in the literature that identifies journaling and reflective writing as common preservice
teacher strategies for grappling with their racialized identities (Aronson et al., 2020; Buchanan,
2015; Crowley & Smith, 2015; Matias, 2016;).
Participants also reflected on their early leanings toward social justice and the foundation
their values provided for the evolution of their anti-racist identities. Being able to recognize the
dignity and worth of marginalized groups generally is a crucial first step to naming the particular,
disparate, and perpetual harms suffered by students of color specifically. However, coupled with
their strong social justice orientations, participants were also able to acknowledge their White
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privilege, the ways in which their experiences in the world are seen as the norm, and the
imperative of checking their personal privilege and taking actions to guard against reinforcing
their privileged positions in the classroom. This finding is supported by a number of second
wave Whiteness studies that illustrate the complexity of developing a positive White racialized
identity (Blaisdell, 2016; Coles-Ritchie & Smith, 2017; Malott et al, 2017).
Our racialized identities-while socially constructed-are nonetheless very salient features
of our lives. The amount of attention that has been paid to the racialized identities of minoritized
youth, and the deficit narratives that have been attached to them have allowed the White
racialized identities of teachers to remain out of the spotlight, untroubled and intact. However,
identity-forming experiences are important to uncover as they provide insight into values, beliefs
and habits of minds that present themselves in the classroom daily and contribute to perpetual
opportunity and equity gaps for underserved youth.
Results for Research Question 2: Anti-Racist Teaching and Learning Approaches
Naming race and racism, employing instructional approaches that emphasize student-
centered collaboration and critical thinking, and taking action to disrupt racism within the school
and broader community are hallmarks of anti-racist education (Kishimoto, 2018). The purpose of
asking about anti-racist classroom strategies was to understand how participants’ beliefs
regarding anti-racist education are manifested in their daily classroom practice and to offer a
retort to critics who assert anti-racist education lacks substantive concrete actions (Cabrera,
2018).
All participants spoke at length and in depth regarding their specific anti-racist teaching
and learning strategies as categorized within the following four themes: 1) naming and
normalizing the social construct of race in the classroom; 2) using curriculum as a lever to
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decenter Whiteness and develop a critical consciousness; 3) exploring and taking actions against
injustice; and 4) focusing on improving student learning.
Naming and Normalizing the Social Construct of Race in the Classroom
When asked about ways in which her racial identity informed her teaching, Carol
reflected on her use of the phrase “as a White woman” when describing herself with students.
Such a phrase serves to uncloak the White racial identity (Leonardo, 2009), and give students
insight into her lens on the world and the ways in which her racial identity “makes things easier
for me sometimes.” These references further serve to make students feel comfortable with
naming and normalizing race as a precursor for acting against racism.
Similarly, Natasha recounted naming her white skin when talking to students about a
friend of hers who was protesting alongside Indigenous people. Her goal in doing this was to
prevent students from thinking of her friend as a “White savior” and to emphasize her
involvement in this cause was recent: “this was not a fight that she started, or was a leader in, or
grew up being a part of.” Natasha then reminded students “to be clear, the problem was started
by White people in the first place.” Such a conversation can help students see the complexity of
racialized identities and understand the ways in which White people can be allies as well as
aggressors to marginalized groups. Another instance in which Natasha explicitly named race and
racism in her classroom was when she invited district staff members who identify as
Black/African American to speak to her class about their experiences as leaders of color in the
district. The students prepared questions for panelists ahead of time and were clearly exploring
their developing understandings of race and racism and the challenges faced by Black/African
American school leaders in predominantly White communities. Students asked about barriers
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faced due to race and solicited advice from panelists to share with people of color in
similar/aspiring roles.
Participants also recounted examples of students using race-visible language in non-
teacher driven classroom discussions in ways that demonstrated their developing awareness of
concepts of race and racism. Maria recounted an instance where one student called another
student a racist in response to not being given something he wanted: “And it was interesting to
see because when you say racism everybody freezes. And the other guys are like, no, it's not
racist...it's because you're being a jerk.” Maria went on to reflect on the importance of giving
space to process exchanges such as this and encourage students to keep having these
conversations rather than saying “No, you're wrong, so they just don't talk…don't share their
ideas, which means they don't evolve.” Concepts of race and racism are complex, and when
unplanned conversations surface, anti-racist practitioners are attuned to the language being used
in the classroom and can step in to facilitate conversations. This is important as they can also
correct misconceptions about race and racism in ways that are supportive, respectful and
maintain the dignity of all participants.
Conversations about race and racism can become difficult, even among like-minded
adults, due to the fear of misspeaking or being misunderstood. Engaging in such conversations
with elementary students is perceived to be infinitely more difficult, which leads some educators
and parents to claim students are too young to talk about race. The participants in this study did
not shy away from explicitly naming race or responding to race being named by students. In
doing so they supported their students to hone their understandings of race and racism and
consider the very real implications of the social construction of race for people with White skin
and people of color.
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Using Curriculum to Decenter Whiteness and Develop Critical Consciousness
Participants repeatedly spoke to the importance of using literature as “windows, mirrors
and sliding glass doors.” Monica named the importance of using literature as a mirror and
“finding opportunities for students to see themselves.” Hope highlighted the power of using
literature as a window for students to explore the lived experiences of other races, cultures and
ethnicities. Her practices even extended into her home where she stated she reads books with
African American protagonists written by African American authors “because it’s important for
everyone to hear.” Seeing the value of using literature intentionally as a tool for building
empathy and respect for minoritized students, Natasha quipped “I am also 99.9% convinced that
we could solve all of our world problems with read alouds.” Monica echoed this sentiment when
she asserted “when you know the story of something, it’s really hard to deny it…It makes it
harder to act in violence against it. It’s going to be really hard not to take care of each other.”
Even for developing anti-racist practitioners, incorporating literature that includes racially
diverse voices is a key entry point for implementing race-visible practices in the classroom.
Participants did not simply present diverse literature selections to students; they were
intentional in what literature they selected and for what purpose. Natasha recalled reading Sofia
Valdez and the Vanishing Vote as a way to affirm the five LatinX students in her class.
Similarly, Jane described selecting texts by “crowdsourcing” her students’ backgrounds and
interests. For example, she read Save me a Seat at the Table, a story about an East Indian boy,
when several students from India were enrolled in her class. Jane also created social issues book
clubs as a tool for inviting her students to read about and discuss issues around economic and
racial diversity. These approaches highlight and normalize racial diversity, and the lived
experiences of marginalized students and groups, in instructional materials. Kate and Carol both
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noted the importance of normalizing the representation of diversity in all instructional materials
and “just kind of trying to make it just more and more what's always happening in the classroom
instead of, oh, here's the one time” (Carol).
Participants also used literature in the classroom to invite students to recognize and name
stereotypes and begin to build their critical consciousness:
Because it's in the movies. It's in the books. They read it everywhere…We start with
Indian Shoes. Now we're going to read Stone Fox. And now we get to that chapter, and
then we call it out. How do you know this is a stereotype? And what do we do to make
sure it doesn't get in our brain? How do we talk back to it? How do we balance it with
truth…And now go out and watch some Tik Tok and tell me where you see that same
stuff happening? Or go watch some cartoons, and go look at some sports mascots, and
do you see the same stuff? (Carol).
In addition to leveraging literature texts, participants discussed ways in which they also
used history/social-studies curriculum specifically to invite students to critically examine
dominant narratives about people and events, reflected in grade level content standards, and
explore concepts of power, privilege, erasure and oppression. Both Carol and Monica reflected
on their experiences recreating their grade level curriculum to more accurately reflect the past
and presence of Indigenous Americans who have roots in the local community. Monica took the
problematic presentation of historical events a step further by inviting students to reexamine the
historical roots of Thanksgiving, a commonly celebrated national holiday. Rather than simply
retell a “horrible” and “sad” story, she framed the lesson by conceptualizing Thanksgiving as a
memorial and invited students to consider what Thanksgiving is “memorializing and how
problematic is that, and so I offered it to the kids in this certain way that we started unpacking
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what's memorialized in our society.” Both participants’ reflections highlighted their desire to
treat the story of Indigenous peoples with respect and dignity. Natasha also referenced her
revised approach to teaching the history of a local Indigenous people, following the death of
George Floyd and her subsequent interrogation of her Whiteness: “I think because for the longest
time, I was kind of teaching the way that I knew, which is that they're not really here anymore.
And that couldn't be farther from the truth and so that definitely was one of my really big shifts
in terms of curriculum.”
The participants’ instructional decisions around decentering Whiteness were well
summarized by Jane who cited her intentional use of non-dominant voices, in books and other
sources, as resources for teaching students instead of filtering all of the content through her
White identifying teacher lens. In part her rationale for centering non-dominant voices came
from an acknowledgement that students have no shortage of access to White, dominant,
majoritarian narratives in most aspects of their everyday lives.
Supporting Students to Act Against Injustice
In the summer of 2020, following the murder of George Floyd, international outrage
swelled into the streets and chants of “Black Lives Matter” and “Say his Name” filled the air.
Copies of Ibram X Kendi’s How to be an Antiracist and Robin Di’Angelo’s White Fragility flew
off bookshelves and into the hands of people desperately wanting to better understand the nature
of racism, their complicitly in it, and take action to dismantle systems of oppression and
inequality. However, as one participant noted, the discourse on race and racism appears to have
faded from public view. Her observation was coupled with the caution that anti-racist work can
be performative if deliberate actions are not taken to dismantle structures and systems that
perpetuate inequity. Indeed, Monica talked about her initial resistance to identifying with the
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term “anti-racist” as a moniker to describe herself because “by just slapping the label. I think it
short circuits our brain sometimes. I think once we put that label on, we feel good about
ourselves.”
While Maria’s observation was in direct reference to adults acting against racism, Peggy
wondered aloud about the complexity of engaging elementary aged students in race-based
conversations and actions. The specific topic she referenced was reparations having recently
heard Hannah Nicole Jones on a podcast: “like is that a conversation we could have or what
could we do with that at an elementary level and turn it into something where could we have kids
solving that problem?” Later, she returned to the topic of anti-racist actions and pondered the
possibility of “figuring out some sort of program in a school where the kids actually come up
with a way to solve this problem; like would that be an interesting thing to do?” Peggy’s
wonderings highlighted the complexities of a) talking about race and racism with young people
and b) giving students agency to engage in active anti-racist problem solving.
Three participants spoke directly to actions they have undertaken with their students to
explore and/or take action against societal inequities they learned about in class. Monica’s
exploration of Thanksgiving resulted in her students examining the front cover of their social
studies textbook and discussing what was being memorialized and highlighted by the publishers.
This conversation led students to write to the publishers to request that they “change the cover of
the book, to reflect the people who were the founding men and women.” Similarly, Hope’s class
read a fiction text about a young immigrant boy who experienced food insecurity, and they were
so outraged that people in America and other places are starving, they hosted a class bake sale
and raised $400.00 in one afternoon. After researching organizations, they donated their funds to
two organizations they deemed worthy: “So that was a concrete thing that they could do now
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being anti-racist right” (Hope). Natasha’s students were able to witness action being taken to
combat racism as a result of a rather serendipitous chain of events that resulted in her calling her
friend who was in Washington D.C. protesting a pipeline with Indigenous leaders. Students were
very interested in hearing about Nina’s experience in and voluntarily stayed in during their recess
to keep the conversation going.
These actions highlight the ways in which elementary students can be engaged, learn
about and act against issues of social and racial justice. They also highlight the fact that students
themselves can initiate such actions-which contradicts the notion that students are too young to
talk about such topics and must be shielded from race-based conversations at school. Finally,
these examples demonstrate the importance of remaining open to centering students’ interests
and allowing their questions, concerns and interests to inform the curricular decisions made by
the classroom teacher to the maximum extent possible.
Improving Student Learning Outcomes
All the participants reflected on the ultimate importance of developing students’ literacy
skills in addition to developing habits and dispositions to combat inequities at school and in the
broader community. Monica reflected on her earlier conceptions of good teaching as “Freirean”
and “rich and yummy…making them feel powerful.” However, she went on to reflect that good
teaching also involves giving students skills “to be competent, and…when they leave your
classroom? Do you feel like they can write a strong paragraph? Do you feel like they have the
tools that are going to make them successful in life?” She went on to state,
make sure those kids know how to write. You give the bulk of your time to make sure
they understand how to decode, or, you know, get us the bulk of your time to really
get that lesson…we need to give them the comprehension skills and strategies, we need
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to we need to hit those kids at the bottom, and we need to inspire the kids at the top and
we cannot forget the kids in the middle.
Building on that theme, Carol reflected “…a lot of primary teachers are playful. And
that's really not who I am. We're here at work… it becomes joyful when they're like…I couldn't
do that. And now I can do it. That's what makes them happy.” Centering student learning is an
essential component of the anti-racist practitioner’s guiding philosophy given the disparate
outcomes experienced by students of color in K-12 public education. Affirming students’ racial
and cultural and other identities is a powerful vehicle for increasing student engagement and
student learning-a means to a desired end; however, surface acknowledgements of diversity (i.e.
heroes and holidays), has little if any impact on serious efforts to dismantle racist systems that
have harmful impacts for students well after they have completed their formal education (Nieto
2017; Sleeter, 2018).
Discussion for Research Question 2
The second research question asked participants to reflect on specific teaching and
learning moves they make that exemplify their anti-racist teaching stance. Participants spoke at
length, and in depth, about teaching and learning strategies that bring race and other facets of
theirs and their students’ identities to the forefront in teaching and learning. Additionally, all
participants highlighted ways in which they use curriculum to decenter Whiteness and develop
students’ critical consciousness. While some participants spoke explicitly and directly about
race with their students, all participants capitalized on the rich racial, cultural and linguistic
diversity of their classrooms. Finally, participants connected their efforts to improving learning
outcomes for students (a theme not generally identified in the predominantly post-secondary
anti-racist education research). Participants’ comments demonstrated alignment between the
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elements of anti-racist pedagogy, often cited in higher education (Kishimoto, 2018). However,
beyond general guidelines, there is a definite gap in the literature regarding specific PK-12 anti-
racist teaching strategies.
Results for Research Question 3: Influences on Anti-Racist Teaching
In addition to their personal beliefs, feelings of preparedness and experience, teachers’
decisions to discuss race with students are influenced by administrative support and the influence
of students’ parents (Delale-O’Connor, 2019; Priest et al., 2016). Leadership actions that directly
impact anti-racist teaching practices in the classroom include procuring resources and curriculum
and securing professional learning (Khalifa et al., 2016). Regarding the influence of parents on
teachers’ decisions to engage in race visible conversations with students, White families are less
prone to engage in race visible conversations, and more likely to engage in colorblind
conversations (Underhill 2017; Vittrup, 2018). African American parents are more intentional in
their efforts to engage their children in race-based conversations (Doucet, 2018).
The purpose of asking participants to reflect on the perceived anti-racist teaching
supports they received from their school/district leadership and their parent community was to
understand the factors participants perceived were helpful and/or hinderances in their efforts to
implement their anti-racist work. Implementing anti-racist practices can be challenging if
supportive factors are not in place to build a shared sense of community, purpose, and action-
orientation; furthermore, anti-racist educators may be less likely to sustain their efforts if they
perceive they will face opposition from their school leadership and/or their students’ parents.
Participant responses regarding perceived supports to implementing anti-racist teaching
are broadly categorized as: 1) access to resources as support; and 2) staff collaboration as
support; and 3) limited parent engagement. A fourth category, which chronicled the challenges
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presented by the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic, was surfaced by all participants without
prompting and merits inclusion in the findings given the significant impact COVID-l9 has had on
public education locally, regionally and nationally.
Access to Resources as Support
All participants spoke enthusiastically and effusively about the professional learning and
resources they accessed through district and regional professional learning networks. In
particular, they praised the work of their district’s teacher on special assignment who has
facilitated, created, developed, and disseminated a plethora of resources include anti-racist
teaching workshops, lesson plan ideas and activities, anti-racist book lists, monthly group
discussions, and other resources (i.e., links to anti-racist social media sites). The level of explicit
anti-racist teaching support provided in this context is not chronicled anywhere in the literature
and thus is well worth noting.
Carol highlighted the availability of shared resources as one area of district support for
her work. She highlighted the content of the weekly newsletters from the teacher on special
assignment as one such resource: “And I'll be like, here's the slideshow about Indigenous
People's Day, which is so helpful because it's so hard to make it all on your own.” Given that one
aspect of anti-racist pedagogy is decentering Whiteness and developing a critical consciousness,
accessing appropriate materials that center marginalized voices is an essential resource for
teachers aspiring to develop their anti-racist praxis. One additional benefit to providing easy
access to anti-racist resources is that teachers who might otherwise be less likely to engage
themselves in anti-racist teaching may see benefit in using the materials that are shared broadly
with all teachers as it reduces the burden of lesson planning. Also, if teachers, who are more
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ambivalent, know their colleagues are using the materials, they may be more likely to attempt to
implement them.
Natasha also spoke about the value of the resources provided by the teacher on special
assignment as they saved valuable teacher time and were high quality resources developed with
teachers in mind:
Here's some great resources about Hispanic Heritage Month handed to me on a silver
platter. And I was like, this is so refreshing because I don't have to scramble. That's the
part you feel like you're constantly scrambling. And I think part of that is the nature of
the organicness of the work. And also not all of it has to be scrambling because it turns
out there are things you can have at your disposal that are really awesome and really
helpful and will make it easier for you to do this teaching.
Natasha’s comments highlight the need to balance ease of access to high-quality materials with
flexibility to create and present new materials as lessons unfold and are informed by the needs
and interests of the students. It is interesting to note that none of the participants interviewed
voiced a desire for a pre-packaged anti-racist curriculum organized by grade level to implement
in their classrooms. Rather, participants who discussed challenges to implementing anti-racist
strategies indicated what they lacked was time.
In addition to district resources, participants also described the value of their involvement
in regional learning networks. Carol, Maria and Hope participated in a teacher research group
focused on implementing history/social studies curriculum that emphasizes social justice and is
facilitated by the local university. Natasha noted her membership in a white anti-racist parenting
group in her local community, and Hope also referenced several professional learning
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experiences she participated in including a class on having difficult conversations and workshops
hosted by museums of Asian Art and the African Diaspora.
When asked about district support for their efforts, several participants also made specific
reference to the district’s Diversify our Narrative (DON) initiative which was launched by
students in August 2020 in direct response to the killing of George Floyd and the renewed
national discourse around anti-Black racism. Secondary students who founded the district’s
DON chapter presented their demands to the district’s governing board which resulted in the
district allocating funds for the purchase of literature written by and about African-Americans.
The DON initiative is of particular note because it was organized entirely by students and
represents one of the district’s strongest examples of taking action against racism and inequity.
Collaboration with Colleagues as Support
Related to their positive experiences with district and regional professional learning,
participants spoke about the benefits of collaborating with their colleagues as a source of support
for their anti-racist teaching practices. Examples of collaboration cited by participants included
co-creating and sharing lesson plans and/or units, providing thought partnership around their
developing practices, offering resources to teachers whose practices were less-well evolved, and
meeting as districtwide grade-level teams. Kate summed up her appreciation for her colleagues
by saying: “I feel really good about the support of my colleagues.”
Participants referred to other participants in the study as colleagues with whom they often
shared, or from whom they often received resources. Maria reflected: “I think colleagues are
certainly the easy ones in that sharing ideas sharing materials.” Other participants indicated as a
result of school closures due to COVID-19 they co-planned their curriculum together to be able
to share ideas and lighten the planning load: “So what happened was she really liked things that I
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did and then she would take them and make them more beautiful, or spin them or show them to
me like, oh you know you could do it this way, or we could do it that way. And what's happened
is we've been building together.” Monica went on to express her desire to collaborate with her
colleagues: “So in the last four years I've been a really big sharer, and I realized that's what I
always wanted. I always wanted to share…” Peggy also commented on the importance of
collaborative relationships with her colleagues: “I've always had really strong connections with
the leaders that I work with, and my partner teacher and I have been colleagues together working
collaboratively for 13 years and we've always gotten along beautifully.”
Participants also observed that through their collaborations they were able to recognize
that their colleagues were in different places in their anti-racist journey. This was seen as both
inevitable: “honestly, everyone's on a different stage in their journey” (Maria) and potentially
beneficial: “maybe that is how it has to start like just a couple of teachers at a couple of sites,
kind of, really digging down” (Maria). Participants who were more evolved in their anti-racist
practices reflected a desire to work in community with others to hone their skills and refine their
curriculum and instructional practices. Carol talked about ways in which she was supporting her
colleagues by sharing resources with them and encouraging incremental growth in their
classrooms. In this way she was encouraging teachers to accelerate the pace of their practice;
however, she wondered aloud whether “I’m giving them stuff that is not in their zone of
proximal development.” Her comments are a strong reminder that simply handing teachers
resources does not equip them to successfully create an anti-racist classroom. There is also a
need to work on other equally important elements of anti-racist identity development and
classroom/schoolwide climate and culture.
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Finally, participants spoke about districtwide opportunities for collaboration through
grade level meetings held several times throughout the year. Participants described a matrix of
information created by site-level, grade-level teams which details the district’s efforts to focus on
race and culture by showing the units grade level teams are building and implementing. Maria
commented: “And, so, like we could start to see this kind of study map coming together where
we can see what everybody's working on.” While she stopped short of calling the matrix an
accountability tool, she expressed appreciation for “just seeing what everybody else is doing.”
Limited Parent Engagement
Participants spoke about the extent to which they partnered with parents in general ways,
as well as in ways that intentionally supported the implementation of their anti-racist work. For
the most part, parents were seen as valuable partners in the general education process, and
participants made efforts to proactively engage them through sending newsletters, inviting
parents to participate in class (virtually), and creating classroom projects that included parent
participation. Specific efforts to engage parents in their anti-racist practices were more varied
with some participants actively engaging in conversations and some reflecting on the challenges
of COVID-19 which prevented parents from being an active presence at their school
communities (as was not the case in previous years).
Natasha recalled three concrete examples of connecting with parents in direct response to
her anti-racist work in the classroom. In one instance, a parent (who was a white male law
enforcement officer) requested his daughter sit out a lesson that included a story about a boy who
is shot by a police officer. In another instance, she shared a written communication with parents
after spontaneously having her class speak with a friend who was attending a pipeline protest
with Indigenous leaders in Washington D.C. She did so in anticipation of students going home
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and sharing the news of their exciting day. In a third example, she described contacting parents
of Black students specifically to let them know about her race-visible classroom conversations:
I reached out specifically to some of my Black parents and said, here's some
conversations that we might have. I want you to know that I'm holding your child’s
safety as my highest priority. And if you feel like you don't want them to be there for
that, please let me know. And I can talk to you. And I did end up having, like, one or
two conversations on Zoom. I did end up having a conversation with a Black
student’s family and she said something like, thank you for doing that. I don't think a
teacher has ever done that.
Carol also described specific attempts to include parents in her anti-racist classroom. She
created a “little slide show” so the parents could see each other given that classroom access is
limited due to COVID-19. She was successful in obtaining pictures from all of her families
except the five LatinX students in her class, so she adjusted her ask and requested families text
her photos of their students so she could work on the slideshow with the students at school. “I
thought this was a way…everybody's been remote. People have kind of worked some of that
stuff out in the last year, and yet there's still these barriers.”
Finally, Monica recounted an instance with a parent in her class that was questioning
many of her classroom decisions:
I thought there's no way that this can be perceived as anything but loving and open and
accepting, and I had a parent call me out on something. And it was like oh, you know,
knee jerk reaction, of course, not me, and then I leaned into it, and then I asked
questions. And then I saw, okay. It's not about what I'm comfortable with. It's what you're
seeing, and you're not comfortable, and then I should listen.
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Parents can be valuable yet overlooked partners in implementing anti-racist work;
however, often “our response harms most the families who will get the most for student
outcomes if we do partner with them” (Carol). All participants addressed the challenges of
connecting with parents as one of several challenges owing to the ongoing COVID-19 global
pandemic.
Impacts of COVID-19
To varying degrees, all participants identified the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic as
a source of significant challenge in implementing their anti-racist work. Specific challenges
included responding to increased student social emotional needs, a perceived lack of time to plan
and deliver the curriculum, and general teacher stress and burnout.
Participants identified the heightened social emotional needs of students returning from
extended school closures due to COVID-19 as a major hinderance to their work. Jane spoke at
length about the challenges she has been experiencing in her class: “I feel like I just am having a
really hard school year with my class overall. Is it like they are having like a higher level of
social emotional need.” She further talked about the social emotional needs impacting her
classroom lesson schedule: “just because like COVID-19 and everything, and all the social
problems like today, I was like we're not going to do math we have to have a class meeting.”
Hope echoed this concern as she also reflected on the academic and social emotional challenges
students were having in class: “There's so many holes. They can't write a sentence. They don't
know how the grammar works, their spelling is atrocious and writing is really bad. And they're
kicking each other in the shins if somebody touches their stuff.” She later recounted an incident
where a student threw a chair in the classroom. After he returned to the class, rather than shun or
continue to punish him, she offered him a hug.
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Another factor identified as a challenge to implementing their work was their perceived
lack of time. Jane lamented that due to COVID-19, and the aforementioned social emotional
issues in her classroom, her lesson pacing was off by six weeks: “Because we're about six weeks
behind where we would normally be in terms of the actual curriculum…just because like COVID
and everything.” Hope spoke repeatedly throughout the interview about her desire to engage in
more explicitly anti-racist focused work and the lack of time to do so: “Actually, I have the idea,
and if I just have the time…I have the bones in a binder somewhere. I just never have the time or
the brain time to actually do it.”
A third challenge presented by COVID-19 was the general stress and burnout being
experienced by teachers as a result of the ongoing pandemic. When asked about participating in
district led professional learning, Jane stated that “a group meeting on zoom gives me palpable
anxiety.” She also stated: “I was just so burnt out by the last two years of teaching online…I just
have lacked energy.” When reflecting on engagement in specific professional development
around anti-racist practices, Kate said: “there's both an expression of interest in it, but a lack of
action on it, you know, and I think there's a feeling of overwhelm from people in so many ways.”
Finally, Maria commented that “right now schools are like everybody is just stretched so thin.”
These comments reinforce that implementing anti-racist practices requires stamina in addition to
resources, skills and dispositions.
Discussion for Research Question 3
The third research question asked participants to reflect on school and parent supports
for, and barriers to, implementing their anti-racist teaching practices. Participants spoke highly
of the resources available in the district and through regional professional learning networks.
They also surfaced the importance of collaboration with their colleagues as a source of support
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for their work. While some participants actively engaged in co-planning with their colleagues,
others appreciated knowing the resources were there. Still others highlighted the importance of
their colleagues being available as thinking partners in the work.
With regard to parents, there was evidence of general support from parents but no
overwhelming evidence of strong support for, or resistance to, anti-racist teaching. Finally,
many colleagues named the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as a barrier to implementing their
anti-racist work for a number of reasons related to heightened social emotional needs emerging
the classroom, a general lack of time, and overall teacher stress and burnout.
The study findings were inconclusive regarding the influence of parents on anti-racist
practices. Parent access to campus and the classroom has been severely limited with the advent
of COVID-19. Additionally, while leadership actions for anti-racist education are well-
documented (Khalifa et al., 2016), much less is known about direct instructional supports that
influence classroom practice.
Results for Research Question 4: Teacher Perceptions of Anti-Racist Efficacy
Teacher efficacy refers to an individual’s beliefs regarding their abilities to learn or
perform actions at designated levels (Schunk, 2020). Four main sources of teacher self-efficacy
are enactive mastery (doing); vicarious mastery (seeing a model in action), verbal persuasion
(receiving feedback); and physiological/affective states (feeling) (Clark, 2020; Schunk, 2020;
Siwatu, 2011). As teacher self-efficacy is context and subject-matter specific (Glock & Kleen,
2019; Siwatu, 2011), a teacher may feel more confident in their abilities in one domain of
practice but less so in another. This is significant as teachers who feel generally efficacious
regarding their professional practice may feel less so regarding their abilities to implement anti-
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racist teaching practices. As such, exploring efficacy beliefs is an important element of
understanding teachers’ decisions to engage, or not engage, in anti-racist teaching.
The purpose of asking participants to reflect on their perceived teacher self-efficacy was
to understand what factors influence and sustain their beliefs regarding their abilities to
implement anti-racist teaching practices as identified in the research: explicitly naming race and
racism, employing anti-racist instructional strategies, and taking action to disrupt racism within
the school and broader community (Kishimoto, 2018). Being able to identify said factors could
inform the development of professional learning experiences and support coaching and
mentoring of teachers working to implement race-visible teaching.
While all participants were generally self-effacing regarding their abilities as anti-racist
practitioners, three main themes emerged regarding their perceived abilities to implement anti-
racist teaching practices: 1) anti-racist efficacy development as a journey not a destination; 2)
enactive mastery, feedback and physiological states as strong sources of anti-racist efficacy
development; and 3) student relationship-building as an area of perceived high teacher self-
efficacy.
Anti-racist Efficacy as a Journey not a Destination
Participants perceived their abilities to implement anti-racist teaching as a constant area
of growth and development; however, even though they perceived their abilities as developing,
they did not appear discouraged or deterred by their recognition of anti-racist efficacy
development as an ongoing process. During the interview, Monica exclaimed, “I need to be a
teacher forever because I’m never going to get good at this.” She further went on to say: “it’s
something I’m working towards, and it’s not about the pretty lesson” or “reaching this status of
having all these great tricks. It’s about am I doing the work?” Hope echoed Monica’s comments
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with her reflection: “…what is sustaining for me is I know I'm never going to get it totally right.”
Additionally, Peggy explicitly named her perceived lack of full confidence in their abilities as an
advantage rather than a disadvantage to developing her praxis: “I think that not feeling like an
expert is kind of helpful because it keeps you always reaching for new and better ways of
supporting students.” This comment mirrors Monica’s earlier reflection regarding her initial
resistance to the term “anti-racist” since in her opinion “slapping the label on short circuits the
brain.” While efficacy refers to one’s perceived beliefs regarding their abilities to learn or
perform actions at designated levels, these comments reinforce that reaching the status of expert
(which suggests an endpoint) is less desirable than maintaining a perpetual learning stance.
Along those lines, while recognizing the development of anti-racist practices as an
ongoing effort, participants also identified growth in their perceived abilities. Kate shared that
she was “hopefully always improving and evolving,” but also acknowledged “I think I'm better
now than I used to be, and I think I have room to grow.” Similarly, Natasha stated: “I feel
confident in the fact that I am doing this in some way, and I have actually felt more comfortable
even to be honest, since last year. I think I genuinely got more comfortable saying Black. I had to
just say it more. It turns out, it's like anything, you have to practice and you get better at it,
right.”
The participants’ comments reveal other previously unidentified characteristics of highly
efficacious teachers: an ability to maintain a growth mindset, engage in critical self-reflection
regarding classroom practices, and perceive general teaching efficacy as a starting-rather than
ending-point for improving classroom practice and student learning outcomes.
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Building Anti-Racist Efficacy Through Multiple Sources
When asked to reflect on the sources of their developing anti-racist efficacy, several
participants specifically named the importance of feedback and their physiological states, in
response to students, as strong sources of efficacy. Monica reflected: “I get the vibe when they
are bored. I get a vibe when like something's not falling right.” She went on to talk about how
difficult it was to get “the vibe” from students while remote learning during the extended period
of school closures due to COVID-19: “Last year was super hard for me because I'm over there
teaching and I'm like, what does the energy feel like…I was just thinking I need you here right
now…” Similarly, Peggy observed: “when you teach and you know it's working, there's energy,
there is definitely that piece right. There's a buzz that you feel from it, and you get it from the
students and, yeah, it really exists.” Carol noted she is always “trying to see what lights them up.
What energizes them.” Natasha offered a similar perspective and talked about the impact of
student engagement as a source of anti-racist efficacy: “I think what gives me confidence is
when we have one of these conversations in my class that gets the kids engaged and gets them
excited and they're raising their hand back and forth.” Centering students and co-creating
learning with them is an important component of anti-racist pedagogy (Kishimoto, 2018);
however, this is not always a common practice among experienced classroom teachers who may
have limited experience or knowledge of their students’ racial and cultural backgrounds and how
to incorporate their students into their curriculum design and instructional delivery.
Another source of efficacy named implicitly by participants as they talked about their
anti-racist efficacy development was mastery experiences. Mastery experience involves
performing the actual task and is thought to be the most influential source of efficacy building as
it provides concrete evidence of ability to implement actions to produce a desired outcome
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(Siwatu, 2011). As previously stated, Monica indicated she needed to be a “teacher forever” and
Hope remarked that she sustained her anti-racist teaching efforts because “I know I’m never
going to get it totally right.” Peggy indicated both a need for education “just trying to continue to
educate myself, so that I understand and keep learning because I definitely don't know it all” and
opportunities to apply her learning through mastery experiences: “I mean the doing part is big for
me…I'm a doer, so I think as a teacher, I have to be moving” as necessary to building her anti-
racist efficacy. Race-visible conversations are perceived as difficult by many; yet, ironically, the
best way to build confidence for engaging in such conversations is to actually engage in them.
The participants interviewed did not shy away from engaging in race-visible practices even
though they did not yet consider themselves to be experts. However, their willingness to engage
suggests a strong sense of general teaching self-efficacy and a growing sense of efficacy for anti-
racist teaching.
Relationship Building as a Perceived Area of High Efficacy
General teacher self-efficacy is a three-dimensional construct reflecting instructional
practices, classroom management, and student engagement (Zee & Koomen, 2016). Siwatu’s
Culturally Responsive Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale (CRTSE) includes several specific elements
of student engagement: building a sense of trust in students, developing personal relationships
with students, and helping students feel like important members of the classroom. Participants’
high efficacy for instructional practices has been noted extensively in responses to research
question two. Participants also demonstrated high efficacy for student engagement-and in
particular-the specific elements identified in Siwatu’s Culturally Responsive Teacher Self-
Efficacy Scale (the closest available approximation for anti-racist teaching efficacy).
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Monica identified “sometimes I think I need to have lunch with the kids” as an example
of developing personal relationships. Maria and Peggy both noted spending time getting to
know students as individuals rather than making stock judgments about groups of students based
on shared characteristics such as race and culture. Jane stated that she does a lot of “dorky
things” like freeze dance and sharing music. Furthermore, the participants were able to leverage
their abilities to build relationships with students to help them feel like important members of the
classroom through centering their students’ racial and cultural backgrounds in curriculum
selection and instructional delivery (discussed in detail in research question two). Inviting
students and parents to share their diverse linguistic backgrounds (i.e., Language of the Week)
and soliciting direct feedback regarding the impact of their teaching efforts, speaks to the
participants’ high efficacy in the area of relationship building.
Discussion for Research Question 4
The fourth research question asked participants to reflect on areas of their anti-racist
practice in which they felt most and least confident about their abilities. Participants were
generally modest regarding their perceptions of their anti-racist efficacy, despite identifying a
number of concrete strategies and approaches that exemplified their anti-racist practices. All
participants echoed the idea that implementing an anti-racist praxis is an ongoing process which,
in their view, does not have an end point. However, despite their perceptions about the ongoing
nature of the work, participants did not appear deterred or discouraged in their efforts to learn,
apply, and reflect on their anti-racist teaching efforts. All participants spoke about the
importance of receiving feedback, both verbal and nonverbal, implicit and explicit, from students
to inform their perceived abilities. Participants noted examples of developing personal
relationships with students and helping students feel like important members of the classroom.
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Finally, all participants reflected on the value of enactive mastery as a source of efficacy
building. These findings are reinforced by literature regarding the value of attending to sources
of efficacy building when conducting research (Morris, 2017) and support the importance of
being able to identify and build domain specific teacher self-efficacy.
Studies of culturally responsive teacher self-efficacy indicate that teachers experience
high efficacy for general teaching tasks but lower efficacy for teaching that incorporates
students’ cultures (Chu & Shernaz, 2018; Glock & Kleen, 2019; Siwatu, 2016). Based on their
descriptions of teaching practices in response to research question two, it would appear
participants perceived both high efficacy for general teaching tasks as well as culturally
responsive/anti-racist teaching tasks.
Summary
This chapter discussed the findings by research question and described how elementary
teachers develop and enact anti-racist teaching practices. The chapter examined the implications
of the participants’ racialized identities, surfaced specific anti-racist teaching and learning
moves, described the extent to which anti-racist teaching practices are influenced by factors
outside the classroom, and explored the role of anti-racist teaching efficacy.
The findings suggest that anti-racist practitioners attend to internal self-reflection
regarding their racialized identities and interrogate their White privilege to inform their teaching
and learning moves. The findings also suggest that anti-racist teachers develop and implement
instructional strategies that intentionally name race and racism, decenter whiteness, build
students’ critical consciousness and promote action to combat injustice. Collaboration with
colleagues, support from site leadership, and easily accessible resources build efficacy for
implementing anti-racist teaching in addition to mastery experiences and feedback from students.
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The influence of parents was less clearly established as an influence on teachers’ practice;
however, the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic has affected the access parents have to
classrooms and impacted the overall interaction between teachers and parents.
Chapter Five will examine the implications of these results and offer suggestions for
future research to provide further insight into the development of anti-racist teaching practices.
Chapter Five: Discussion
Much has been written about the education of underserved youth and prior approaches to
improving learning outcomes for students of color. However, the literature regarding anti-racist
education, which explicitly names race and racism, employs anti-racist instructional strategies,
and takes action to disrupt racism within the school and broader community (Kishimoto, 2018) is
sparse especially as it pertains to elementary education. Given the persistently disparate
outcomes experienced by Black and LatinX students, it is crucial that equitable approaches be
explored and implemented in order to disrupt persistent patterns of underachievement.
The purpose of this study was to understand how elementary teachers develop and enact
anti-racist practices with their students. The study asked the following four research questions:
1. What experiences influence the racialized identity development of elementary anti-racist
practitioners?
2. What teaching and learning approaches do anti-racist elementary teachers employ with
students?
3. How do elementary teachers perceive their anti-racist efforts are supported by factors
outside their classroom?
4. How do elementary teachers perceive their efficacy for anti-racist teaching?

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Findings
The findings of this study suggest that anti-racist teachers attend to ongoing self-
reflection in addition to intentional implementation of student-centered, justice-oriented, race-
visible teaching strategies. When asked to describe the ways in which their racialized identities
influenced their teaching, and reflect on significant experiences that prepared them for teaching
diverse student populations, participants explicitly named their racialized identities, recounted
personal experiences that heightened their awareness of the salience of race, and made explicit
connections to their teaching practices. Specific teaching practices included elevating
marginalized voices, including students in curriculum design and instructional delivery, and
promoting the development of students’ critical consciousness through exploration, conversation,
and action.
While the literature regarding anti-racist teaching in elementary contexts is limited, the
study’s findings are supported by research conducted in higher education contexts with
preservice teachers. These studies assert the importance of examining Whiteness, and its
relationship to teaching, as necessary for eliminating equity and opportunity gaps (Picower,
2009). Furthermore, studies assert the importance of beginning with critical self-reflection when
addressing race and racism in education (Ebarvia, 2021; Miller, 2017). Regarding the
implementation of teaching strategies absent critical reflection, literature cautions that attending
only to the acquisition of race-visible teaching strategies in a racially colorblind context serves to
diminish their effectiveness (Dixson, 2021; Knowles & Hawkman, 2019).
A second finding from the study reinforces the importance of providing access to
resources and facilitating ongoing collaboration. When asked about support for their work, every
participant referred to the impact of the district’s teacher on special assignment who regularly
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shares resources and facilitates grade level collaboration sessions. While anti-racist work should
center, and be responsive to, the needs of students, access to resources, and time to share and
receive ideas in collaboration with colleagues, reduces the burden of time needed to create
curriculum and builds efficacy for implementation of practices. This is particularly important for
teachers who are developing in their anti-racist journey and need additional supports to remain
engaged in the work while they attend to critical self-reflection and capacity building. These
findings are supported by research asserting the importance of committing to collaboration,
while recognizing approaches cannot be applied in exactly the same manner in every classroom
(Kishimoto, 2018), and avoiding cookie-cutter approaches to implementing race-visible teaching
practices (Dixson, 2021).
A third finding from the study underscores the value of building efficacy through a
number of sources. When asked about their perceived self-efficacy for anti-racist teaching,
participants referenced the impact of their physiological/affective states (especially in response
to students) and highlighted the importance, and challenges, of building efficacy through mastery
experiences. Participants were generally humble regarding their assessment of their anti-racist
abilities and perceived their anti-racist efforts as a journey and not a destination. Some
participants went as far as to assert they did not anticipate ever reaching a point where their
practice would be perfected. However, participants were not discouraged by the idea of
continuous engagement in their anti-racist work; rather, their responses to several questions
reinforced their dispositions toward continuous growth and showed the evolution of their beliefs
and practices as a result of their commitment to anti-racist education. The research regarding
efficacy as domain specific (Siwatu, 2011) is particularly important as it sheds light on why
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some teachers express generally high levels of teacher efficacy but express less confidence in
their anti-racist efficacy.
Implications for Practice
The study findings can support the efforts of school and district departments to improve
learning outcomes for underserved students by identifying, recruiting, and retaining teachers who
are predisposed to education equity. Several participants in the study explicitly identified their
early social justice orientations and made connections to the evolution of their anti-racist
teaching approaches. Uncovering teaching candidates’ fundamental values, beliefs, and
assumptions regarding race, racism, and transforming historically disparate outcomes for
students of color, are essential for eliminating persistent educational inequities. Assertions of
colorblindness can no longer be accepted when evidence so clearly points to the disparate
outcomes of students along racialized lines.
When asked about significant experiences that influenced their teaching students of color,
all the participants surfaced, and reflected on, the impact of personal experiences that heightened
their awareness of their own racialized identities. In addition, participants who self-identified as
White explicitly named their White privilege and the ways in which they worked to mitigate it
when teaching students. While race is a social construct, it is highly salient organizing feature of
society. Colorblind approaches to teaching students reproduce and reinforce inequities by
suggesting benefits are conferred through hard work and effort without accounting for the
historical impact of racism that persistently impacts housing, employment and health outcomes
for people of color relative to their White peers. While the racialized identities of students are
often surfaced to explain their disparate outcomes, Whiteness is rarely ever implicated in such
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conversations despite the vast majority of teachers being White women. Uncloaking Whiteness
is necessary to give a full accounting of the impact of race and racism in public education.
The findings also highlight the importance of securing professional learning opportunities
and providing access to instructional materials. While all teaching, including anti-racist teaching,
requires strong content knowledge and competence in delivering high quality instruction, efforts
to improve the general quality of teachers (through a colorblind focus on standards and
assessment) has to date not significantly improved outcomes for students of color-and in
particular African-American students. Participants found immense value in being provided
resources to support their work, and even though no participants expressed an interest in
prepackaged curriculum, they acknowledged the time-saving benefits of having access to
materials developed by the district’s teacher on special assignment. Some participants also
highlighted the value of providing resources to their colleagues as a strategy for maintaining and
encouraging their ongoing engagement in the work.
A final implication for practice is the importance of providing opportunities for ongoing
teacher collaboration. All participants spoke to the value of collaborating with their colleagues,
and several participants named other participants in the study as specific supports for their
efforts. The COVID-19 global pandemic has created an unprecedented degree of strain on public
education and classroom teachers specifically. This strain will undoubtedly linger long afer
COVID-19 is no longer considered pandemic. Providing time for staff collaboration would
address participants’ perceived lack of time, and general stress and burnout as challenges to their
work. Additionally, ongoing collaboration would better facilitate the development of an aligned
and coherent approach to anti-racist education, support the building of community, and increase
the likelihood that teachers will persist in their anti-racist teaching efforts.
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Table 2
Recommendations for Practice

Recommendation Rationale
Recruit and retain social justice-
oriented candidates
Attending to teaching candidates’ values, beliefs and
assumptions, regarding race and racism, are essential for
transforming persistent educational inequities.
Prioritize critical self-reflection Uncloaking Whiteness is necessary to give a full
accounting of the impact of race and racism in public
education, and storytelling is a powerful medium for
making connections to past, present and others.
Procure professional learning
and regularly disseminate
instructional resources
Building content knowledge and providing applicable
resources can serve to build efficacy among developing
practitioners.
Facilitate ongoing staff
collaboration
Building community can save time, reduce burnout, and
maintain engagement in anti-racist practices.

Future Research
This study explored the development and enactment of anti-racist teaching practices
among elementary teachers in a northern California school district. The study investigated the
relationship between racial identity development, anti-racist pedagogy, outside influences, and
teacher self-efficacy in implementing and sustaining anti-racist teaching practices. Given the
dearth of literature regarding anti-racist teaching practices in the elementary school setting, there
are several recommendations for future study.
The study explored the development of anti-racist teaching practices implemented by
eight teachers in one school district located within in a small, diverse, and politically liberal town
in Northern California. While this exploration highlighted ways in which teachers are actively
engaged in, and supported with, anti-racist teaching, one recommendation for future study would
be to replicate this study in differing geographical and demographic contexts. Such replication
would add to the limited body of research regarding anti-racist teaching practices in elementary
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settings and would provide insight into the impact of geography, demographics, and other factors
specific to this particular study on teachers’ willingness to engage in and sustain anti-racist
teaching practices. This recommendation is supported by Delale-O’Conner and Graham (2019)
who found that when asked about their willingness to surface conversations around race and
racism in the classroom, teachers spoke about local demographics and parents’ political leanings
as factors that would, or would not, be supportive of their decisions to have race-visible
conversations in their classrooms. Understanding and shaping the conditions for anti-racist
practitioners to be maximally effective is as important as preparing and supporting teachers for
implementing anti-racist teaching strategies in the classroom.
Anti-racist education is concerned with surfacing and dismantling systems and structures
that perpetuate disparate outcomes for students of color by explicitly naming race and racism,
implementing student centered pedagogies and taking action in the school community and
beyond (Kishimoto, 2018). While this study explored the implementation of anti-racist teaching
practices specifically, it is well documented that within the public education system, students of
color experience disparate outcomes in areas beyond academics (e.g., out of school suspension
and graduation rates). A recommendation for further study is to explore the anti-racist practices
of whole schools or districts by examining both classroom practices and policies and procedures
that are in place in the broader context. Such an exploration would surface the extent to which
an entire school or district’s systems are aligned to improve outcomes for students of color and
identify gaps that may support or diminish the anti-racist efforts of classroom teachers. A case-
study that explored barriers to implementing anti-racist school culture at a middle school
identified a failure to shift culture around discipline that disproportionately impacted Black
students as one such barrier (Chikkatur, 2021). While research asserts classroom teachers have
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the most impact on student learning (Buddin & Zamarro, 2009; Hattie, 2008; Leithwood, 2019),
factors beyond the classroom can also have a significant impact on outcomes for underserved
youth. Thus, practices and policies that push students out of school, limit their access to higher
level coursework, or fail to leverage partnerships with parents can undo the efforts of anti-racist
teachers and perpetuate inequitable outcomes for minoritized youth.
A final recommendation would be to explore the implementation of anti-racist practices
in non-humanities-based courses. This study explored anti-racist practices in the elementary
context where teachers generally provide instruction in all content areas and can make thematic
connections to all subject matter. Interview participants generally referenced their language arts
and history/social science lessons when providing examples of their anti-racist teaching
practices. However, research asserts students of color are disproportionately tracked into lower-
level mathematics and science courses which negatively impacts their secondary and post-
secondary academic opportunities. Exploring anti-racist teaching practices beyond
reading/language arts and history/social science courses would provide insight into how teachers
can implement race-visible teaching practices in contexts that may not be perceived to naturally
lend themselves to surfacing topics of race and racism. One study found that teachers who
avoided discussing race and racism in class did so because they indicated the topic was not
appropriate to their specific subject matter and/or for school in general (Delale-O’Conner &
Graham, 2019). It is important that students feel affirmed in all aspects of their education, and it
is especially important that students be supported in content area contexts in which they have
been historically unrepresented and less successful (i.e., mathematics and science). Additionally,
exploring anti-racist education in non-humanities courses would normalize conversations about
95

race and racism in all educational contexts and address the need for whole system change in
order to bring about equitable educational outcomes for historically underserved students.
Conclusion
The purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which elementary teachers develop
and implement anti-racist teaching practices. This study adds to the limited body of literature
regarding anti-racist teaching in the elementary classroom and highlights the importance of
critical self-reflection, access to resources, and collaboration with colleagues. This study also
identifies concrete and actionable instructional strategies that can be implemented in the
classroom to normalize race; leverage literature to decenter Whiteness and dominant Eurocentric
narratives; develop students’ critical consciousness; and promote action against injustice. While
no individual educator can dismantle racism, the actions of individuals play a central role in
education justice (Sugrue & Daftery, 2021). Implementing anti-racist education is both the
imperative of systems and the individuals within them; it requires both swift, explicit, and overt
action and ongoing thoughtful self-reflection. Most importantly, anti-racist educators must have
a belief in their abilities to carry out the actions that will close historical equity and opportunity
gaps that are predictably reproduced along racialized lines. Classroom teachers have the most
direct impact on student learning; therefore, building a pipeline of justice oriented, collaborative,
and student-centered educators is essential for dismantling systemic racism and guaranteeing all
students, and in particular those who have historically been underserved, have equitable
opportunities for full participation in society.

96

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Appendix A: Interview Protocol
1. How would you describe your racial/ethnic identity?

2. Can you describe the ways in which your awareness of your own racial or ethnic identity
informs your teaching?
○ Possible probing questions:
i. How would you describe your racial/ethnic identity and how have you
come to this understanding of your identity?
ii. How has your understanding of your identity changed over time?
iii. How do you select instructional materials and strategies?

3. Can you describe the ways in which your students’ racial backgrounds inform your
teaching and learning moves?
○ Possible probing questions:
i. How do you build relationships with students?
ii. How do you select instructional materials?
iii. What classroom strategies do you use most frequently?
iv. What is your approach to classroom management?
v. How do you engage and involve parents?

4. What specific elements or examples of your classroom practice exemplify your
intentional efforts to teach students of color?

5. How do you identify with the term anti-racist?
○ Possible Probing Questions:
i. Does the school engage in activities that that highlight racial diversity?
ii. Do curricular materials present opportunities to talk about race or
racism?
iii. Have there been/are there planned or unplanned conversations about race
or racism?

6. Some educators say good teaching is just that and reaches all students regardless of racial
or cultural background. How do you respond to that statement?

7. Can you describe one or more significant experiences that you feel have best prepared
you to teach students from diverse racial and cultural backgrounds?
○ Possible Probing Questions:
i. Can you describe any professional developments your school has provided
on the topic of anti-racist teaching?
ii. Do you talk to your grade level colleagues conversations about anti-racist
teaching?
iii. Is anti-racist teaching a topic of discussion at staff meetings?
iv. Who do you talk to about your work when you are not at work?
v. Are you engaged in activities outside of your formal teaching role?
vi. How often are you engaged in any of these types of activities?
114

8. How do you perceive your abilities to implement teaching strategies to improve learning
outcomes for students of color?

9. What do you believe are the sources of the beliefs about your abilities you just described?
○ Doing, seeing, feeling, feedback

10. What sustains and motivates you to engage in race-visible/anti-racist teaching practices?

11. What other school or community related factors, if any, influence your decisions about
your teaching and learning moves?
○ Teaching colleagues
○ Parents

12. In what ways does the leadership at your school (or in your district) provide support for
teaching diverse student populations?
○ Possible probing questions:
i. Can you describe any professional developments your school has provided
on the topic of anti-racist teaching?
ii. Do you talk to your grade level colleagues conversations about anti-racist
teaching?
iii. Is anti-racist teaching a topic of discussion at staff meetings?
iv. Can you give an example of a time you felt supported by your school or
district leadership?
v. Can you give an example of specific actions taken by your leaders that are
supportive?
vi. How does the leadership of your school communicate its values around
anti-racist teaching to staff and the community?

13. If your site principal were to ask for your input in developing a specific and strategic plan
for implementing anti-racist teaching practices in all TK-5 classrooms, what questions
might you have and what elements would you include in that plan?

Abstract (if available)

Abstract Students of color continue to experience disparate academic outcomes despite state and federal initiatives intended to close equity and opportunity gaps; furthermore, the impact of these disparities translates into inequities in health, housing, and employment. While public schools are becoming increasingly diverse, and states have begun to recognize racism as a public health crisis, teachers are predominantly White and female. The role of the classroom teacher is pivotal in directly impacting learning outcomes for students; thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the development and enactment of anti-racist teaching practices among elementary teachers. The study used a qualitative methodology and conducted semi-structured interviews with eight elementary teachers. The study’s findings indicate the importance of critical self-reflection and interrogation of Whiteness, access to instructional resources, and staff collaboration as practices to promote anti-racist teaching. The study also suggests that anti-racist practitioners decenter their Whiteness in the classroom, use curriculum as a lever to elevate marginalized voices, develop their students’ critical consciousness, and encourage the exploration and enactment of anti-racist activism. While the impact of parental influence was not conclusively determined, student feedback and mastery experiences were identified as important sources of anti-racist efficacy.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Williams, Marie Elizabeth Rose Brown (author)

Core Title An Exploration of the Development and Enactment of Anti-Racist Teaching Practices in the Elementary Classroom

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Degree Conferral Date 2022-05

Publication Date 04/18/2022

Defense Date 02/25/2022

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag anti-racist,classroom,elementary,OAI-PMH Harvest,teaching

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Krop, Cathy (committee chair), Cash, David (committee member)

Creator Email mariewil@usc.edu,mariewilliams75@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC111006525

Unique identifier UC111006525

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Format application/pdf (imt)

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