Place-Consciousness and Critical Whiteness Pedagogy: Teacher Perceptions of Antiracist Possibilities in Rural Schools
Restricted (Penn State Only)
- Author:
- Jones-Greer, Kelsey Rose
- Graduate Program:
- Curriculum and Instruction
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- August 12, 2024
- Committee Members:
- Kimberly Powell, Professor in Charge/Director of Graduate Studies
Kai Schafft, Outside Unit & Field Member
Charlotte Land, Chair & Dissertation Advisor
Amy Crosson, Major Field Member
Anne Whitney, Major Field Member
Samuel Tanner, Special Member - Keywords:
- antiracism
whiteness
rural - Abstract:
- The purpose of this study was to better understand how rural white teachers across different rural contexts perceive, think about, and design for antiracist possibilities in a virtual critical inquiry group. Across the study, I drew on theories from critical whiteness studies, place-consciousness, and critical teacher education. Following case study and critical participatory action research, I virtually met with three rural white teachers from three different states for eight months in 2023 in a cross grade-level inquiry group to think about and design curriculum for their rural schools using critical whiteness and antiracist pedagogies. I generated data through video and audio recording monthly inquiry group meetings, conducting interviews, creating fieldnotes, and collecting artifacts. I analyzed data using an ongoing and emergent process through thematic analysis and using theory alongside emerging findings. The following questions guided this study’s design and analysis: How do white rural teachers understand and describe the social, political, and contextual dimensions of critical whiteness and antiracist pedagogies in rural schools? How do white rural teachers use a virtual critical inquiry group to think about and design critical whiteness and antiracist instruction in rural schools? Analysis revealed two characteristics of whiteness present throughout teacher participants’ stories, experiences, and perceptions of the rural people in their contexts: white ambivalence and conditional inclusion in communities (Thandeka, 1999). Analysis also revealed that teacher participants shifted their thinking about antiracism from just critically talking about race to embracing antiracism as a philosophical stance grounded in love, joy, and hope. Teacher participants took up positions as antiracist curriculum designers but faced obstacles that limited or halted their design process. The findings highlighted the need for critical teacher education to provide on-going support to sustain antiracist efforts in rural schools. Overall, findings contribute to understanding of enacting a collaborative and participatory critical teacher education to increase teacher’s knowledge and courage to take antiracist stances in their rural schools. Additionally, findings suggest the potential for a place-conscious approach to design and enact critical whiteness and antiracist pedagogies in rural schools.