2005) The discourse of denial: how white teacher candidates construct race, racism and 'white privilege', Race Ethnicity and Education, 8:2, 147-169,

In this study school principals acknowledged the manifestations of racism within their schools, but their lack of conceptual clarity led to ambivalence and ambiguities in their practice of antiracism pedagogy. Stakeholders, such as teachers who resisted staff antiracism development initiatives and white parents who withdrew from racially diverse learning environments, further complicated this shortcoming. Principals’ limited conceptual knowledge of antiracism combined with the desire to maintain a culture of harmony restricted their interrogation of racist ideologies and power relations that are embedded in the social, cultural, and political structures of schools. This article recommends that to adequately prepare themselves for the conflictual terrain of antiracism pedagogy, school leaders must acquire adequate conceptual and theoretical knowledge that will inform their transformational tasks. They must also address the contentious issue of a staffing model that reflects racial diversity, that is, one that is supportive of staff development initiatives that tackle race equity and social justice within schools.

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This three-year study examined ways in which race mediates the process of learning to teach. The innovation of pairing racial minority and dominant group teacher candidates in field-based practica was based on the rationale that such collaboration would enrich the pedagogical process with different perspectives, traditions, resources, and experiences from which teacher candidates, associate teachers, and students would benefit. The findings revealed that such partnerships broke down some racial barriers, tackled sensitive racial and cultural issues, helped in the acquisition of awareness and competence to function in cross-race domains, and laid the foundation for long-term social and professional relationships. On the other hand, the study uncovered an institutional culture that interpreted racial difference as deficit and generated paralytic anxiety for candidates of color, marginalizing them in the communication process. Such institutional and personal responses limited the potential of such partnerships as a collegial enterprise. While dominant group partners gained valuable insights into how racism operates in institutional structures, candidates of color often ended up as disempowered apprentices with their expectations seriously compromised and their long-term objectives to transform the teaching profession immeasurably jeopardized.

It est question dans le présent article de recherches sur la pédagogie antiraciste, plus précisément de saisir comment cette dernière est perçue par les enseignants d'expérience et les étudiants en éducation, et comment elle est mise en pratique. Les avis exprimés font ressortir un large éventail de partis pris pédagogiques et idéologiques, dont celui qui voudrait que l'engagement des élèves à leur cheminement scolaire soit tributaire de l'appartenance à tel ou tel groupe racial ou ethnique, et celui qui reflète la peur d'abandonner une présumée norme pédagogique canadienne. Afin de mettre au défi la pensée des enseignants sur la pratique de l'anti‐racisme, les auteurs tracent les grandes lignes d'un nouveau modèle de formation pédagogique conçu dans le but d'intégrer à la théorie l'enseignement des mouvements sociaux qui visent la justice sociale. Les auteurs proposent que l'analyse des problèmes engendrés par la diversité sociale, les différences raciales et les politiques d'antiracisme figure au programme de formation afin d'assurer l'engagement social du corps enseignant et de favoriser une réflexion personnelle cohérente. This paper reports on research examining prospective and established teachers' conceptualization and practice of antiracism pedagogy. Views reveal great variability in pedagogical and ideological positions that include unexamined assumptions about students' differential commitments to education across racial and ethnic groups, and fear of abandoning an unnamed Canadian norm. To challenge teachers' conceptualization and practice of antiracism, this study systematically develops transformative possibilities for a teacher education praxis designed to link other social movements for social justice issues. The authors suggest moving the issues of social difference, race and antiracism into mainstream scholarship, ensuring teacher commitment to the cause of social justice and engaging participants in critical reflective practice.