Interracial Team Teaching in Social Work Education

Abstract

This article aims to explore anti-racist social work education through interracial team teaching, where one instructor is White, and the other is Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color (BIPOC). This pedagogical approach is presented as an emerging conceptual model to consider in anti-racist social work education. As an anti-racist approach to teaching, this model aims to engage students and faculty in a more active and accountable role in dismantling systemic racism and White supremacy through social work education. A close examination of published articles on interracial team teaching revealed an absence of theoretical frameworks to guide this teaching method. Critical Race Theory (CRT) emerged as a compatible theoretical framework for teaching anti-racism within an interracial team-taught model. Five CRT tenets from Sólorzano et al. (2005) align with previous studies to support this emerging pedagogical approach as a viable option. Findings suggest that anti-racist education requires explicitly naming terms like White supremacy, racism, and colonization within the social work curriculum. Interracial team teaching necessitates shared power and authority between instructors and calls for White educators to examine their White identity and resist performing allyship. Academic institution hiring practices need a greater representation of BIPOC faculty to reduce overburdening faculty of color.

Teaching Anti-Racism to White Social Work Students

“…Research indicates that having cofacilitators/educators for anti-racism courses is ideal, especially co-educators that are diverse along several social identities/categories (e.g., race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. ; Buehler et al, 2021;Curiel, 2021;Garran et al, 2015). Co-teaching allows for a more vibrant model of teaching social justice and allows for more than one viewpoint to consider (Curiel, 2021;Garran et al, 2015).…”

“…; Buehler et al, 2021;Curiel, 2021;Garran et al, 2015). Co-teaching allows for a more vibrant model of teaching social justice and allows for more than one viewpoint to consider (Curiel, 2021;Garran et al, 2015). When teaching an anti-racism course for mostly White social work students, one of the co-educators should be White and the other a Person of Color (Buehler et al, 2021;Curiel, 2021;Garran et al, 2015).…”

“…Co-teaching allows for a more vibrant model of teaching social justice and allows for more than one viewpoint to consider (Curiel, 2021;Garran et al, 2015). When teaching an anti-racism course for mostly White social work students, one of the co-educators should be White and the other a Person of Color (Buehler et al, 2021;Curiel, 2021;Garran et al, 2015). White educators should selfdisclose to students certain examples of how they have struggled with their White privilege in their ongoing journey toward being more anti-racist (Kordesh et al, 2013;Linder, 2015;Malott et al, 2021;Paone et al, 2015;Sue et al, 2009).…”