White Teacher, Know Thyself: Improving Anti-Racist Praxis Through Racial Identity Development

• Published in: Urban education (Beverly Hills, Calif.) Vol. 55; no. 1; pp. 125 - 152
• Main Authors: Utt, Jamie, Tochluk, Shelly
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.01.2020; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Academic achievement; Achievement Gap; Cultural Influences; Culturally Relevant Education; Ethnic identity; Identity formation; Minority Group Students; Praxis; Professional Identity; Race; Racial Bias; Racial Factors; Racial Identification; Racial identity; Racism; Student Diversity; Teachers; Teaching; Urban Schools; White Teachers; Whites; racism; race; social; multi-cultural schools; subjects; culturally relevant pedagogy; teacher development; White teachers; teacher beliefs; diversity; achievement gap; identity; urban education; cultural responsiveness
• ISSN: 0042-0859; 1552-8340
• DOI: 10.1177/0042085916648741

This article asserts that White teachers in urban schools must turn their racialized focus away from implied deficits of students of Color in the “achievement gap” frame and toward the impact their racial identities have on their craft. Through empirical analysis of White teachers’ experiences, the article suggests six areas of self-work for developing positive, anti-racist White racial identities, an integral component in culturally responsive teaching. The authors draw upon Zeus Leonardo’s “third space” of navigating Whiteness and Janet Helms’s racial identity development framework to offer practical suggestions for building more anti-racist and effective pedagogy.