White racial(ized) consciousness work: seeking justice in teacher education
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Date
2019-10
Authors
Gamey, Donna lark
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Abstract
Reconciliation is difficult in the Canadian context in part because much of white settler society does not acknowledge its (our) complicity in ongoing racialization and colonialism. They/we do not acknowledge the historic injustices and ongoing systemic inequalities created and perpetuated for their/our benefit and thus are not prepared to atone for the harms that have been afflicted either in the past or the present nor willing to change behaviour This dissertation seeks to address the dysconsciousness of racialization and colonization that characterizes white settlers. Positioned as a preparatory step in the process of reconciliation and framed as a constructed grounded theory study, this research project unfolded in a three-step process to develop a model for racial(ized) consciousness work in teacher education. In the first step, an adaptation of Schwab’s commonplaces of curriculum making provided the framework, while the lens of Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory, critical race theory and matters of historical and emotional labour helped shape theory-based considerations contained within the model. In the second step, recommendations were distilled from data from interviews with teacher educators who do some form of racial(ized) consciousness work in their practice to function as criteria with which to assess the practical appropriateness of the theory-based considerations. In the third step, the considerations were compared and contrasted with the recommendations to arrive at a conceptual model that is theoretically-based, practical and yet context-transcendent for work within teacher education. The model for White Racial(ized) Consciousness Work (WCRW) is offered as a tool for those doing or wanting to do white racial(ized) consciousness work as part of the larger project of teaching for social justice. A quadruple helix is used to illustrate the interconnected themes and complex challenges of engaging in a racially-conscious curriculum.
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Keywords
Bioecological theory, Consciousness work, Critical race theory, Discomforting emotion, Historical narrative, Identity, Model, Race, Racialization, Reconciliation, Research, Social justice, Teacher education, White