Teaching while Black: Best Practices for Engaging white Pre-service Teachers in Discourse Focused on Individual & Cultural Diversity in Urban Schools

Abstract

In this article, I reflect on ways to improve my practice as a Black woman teaching in a white-dominated teacher education program through self-study in teacher preparation (S-STEP). I describe strategies that Black professors can use to engage white preservice teachers in discourse about individual and cultural diversity in urban schools. The general underlying principle in this focus is that one must create a safe space for white students, regardless of comfort, to communicate about individual and cultural diversity in urban schools. This is imperative, as research demonstrates many professors of color, specifically Black professors, experience hostile classroom environments. These experiences occur mostly within white-dominated institutions when students experience a shift of power from a white professor to a professor of color. This shift is intensified when the topics of the course focus on equity and social justice in urban schools. Practitioners of color are encouraged to explore ways in which these and others can be incorporated in courses that prepare white teachers to teach diverse populations in urban schools.

“Black Women are the Mules of the World”: Black Women Professors of Practice in Teacher Education Programs

“…Porcher (2020) argues that Black professors' classroom experiences are both inextricably and negatively linked to their outsider status within white-dominated institutions. Contentious classroom experiences often result from inappropriate acts of student opposition framed by distorted stereotypic belief systems that are inextricably and negatively linked to the Black professor's outsider status (Perry et al, 2009;Porcher, 2020). This outsider within status is exacerbated for Black women PoPs due to gender and power (Boss et al, 2021).…”

“…More specifically, we were both PoPs in the urban social justice teacher education program, in the Teaching and Learning department. The program's primary goal is to develop a generation of teachers with the skills and dispositions to teach all students while learning from them and their communities (Porcher et al, 2020). Teachers prepared in the teacher education programs learn to critically analyze the social politics of urban, rural and suburban schools and use this analysis to inform their teaching practice toward the empowerment of children and youth (Porcher et al, 2020).…”

Preparing teacher candidates to address anti-blackness and see the assets of black students in clinical practice

“…The teacher candidates enrolled in my course were white, monolingual females with little to no experience working with black students prior to my course. Like most white teacher candidates, they felt unprepared to teach black students (Porcher, 2020; Bazemore-Bertrand, 2019; Milner & Laughter, 2015; Ladson-Billings, 1994). Most teachers develop fear and inaccurate preconceptions about black students because of the overabundance of negative imagery contributed by the media (Ramsay-Jordan, 2020; Childs, 2014).…”

“…Before teacher educators, clinical faculty, clinical supervisors and others involved in school-university partnerships or PDSs can begin working with teacher candidates and addressing anti-blackness, they must start with themselves. All who are working with teacher candidates should be doing self-work (Porcher, 2020). This work on self should include reading books and listening to podcasts (Table 1), journaling as a means of critical reflection, attending professional development that involves learning anti-racist practices that challenge biases and stereotypes.Colleges/universities and schools should establish a third space, a less hierarchical space to prioritize addressing anti-blackness within classrooms.…”

Beyond traditional teaching: a systematic review of innovative pedagogical practices in higher education

“…Evaluation is present throughout the learning process and requires the presence of a methodology to achieve self-directed learning. It also requires faculty preparedness for various situations (Porcher, 2020). Developing good pedagogical practices strengthens students' critical thinking, enabling them to analyze information not only quantitatively but also qualitatively, complementing research (Mahdi et al, 2020).…”