Researching Racism In Education

The question of why we need to think about how we research race demands a conceptualization of race that captures both its social construction and its temporal evolution. We need both an understanding of race and clarity about how we talk about it in our design and conduct of research, and in how we interpret and apply it in our findings. As a field, we can use research on race and racism in education to help construct social change. Our purpose with this volume is to underscore the persistence of the discriminatory actions—processes—and the normalization of the use of race (and class)—conditions—to justify the existing and growing disparity between the quality of life and opportunity for middle-class and more affluent Whites and that for people of color and people of color who live in poverty. As editors of this volume, we wonder what more we could learn and understand about the process and condition of race if we dare to ask bold questions about race and racism and commit to methods and analyses that respect the experiences and knowledges of our research participants and partners.

* Is there a place for anti-racist politics in educational research and, if so, what should it consist of? * Can white people do meaningful research on racism and the experiences of black students? * What research methods are most appropriate in the study of racism in education? This book offers a comprehensive overview and assessment of the wide range of debates and controversies concerning the politics, theory and practice of research that have become associated with 'race' and education in recent years. It offers new and original contributions from many of the leading academics within the field together with some of the most promising and influential researchers to have recently emerged. In dealing with these debates, the book offers new lines of enquiry and alternative ways of thinking. It represents both an important text and a timely contribution to the field. The book will be of interest to a wide range of students, teachers and practitioners in education, 'race' and ethnic studies, sociology and research methods.

In traditional educational research, race is treated as merely a variable. In 1995, Gloria Ladson-Billings and William F. Tate, IV argued that race is under-theorized in education and called for educational researchers to pay closer attention to the relationship between race and educational inequity (Ladson-Billings and Tate, 1995). In particular, they argued, drawing on legal scholar, Derrick Bell’s notion of Racial Realism (Bell, 1995), that racialized inequities are not accidental or aberrant; rather, racialized educational inequities are the result of particular and specific policies and practices that are designed to maintain particular forms of dominance and marginalization. More specifically, Bell and later Ladson-Billings and Tate, argue that racial inequity persists despite liberal policies and legislation that were ostensibly designed to eradicate it. The Racial Realist perspective takes into the consideration the longevity and history of racism, racial inequity and White supremacy in the U.S. and serves as a mirror to reflect back the limitations of proposed policies and legislation that fail to address those issues. In this way, Critical Race Theory and the scholars who draw on CRT, view our work as an important “check and balance” in the effort toward racial equality.

In this work, Troyna draws on his own research into educational policy at both state and institutional level to argue that policy makers and practitioners have avoided getting to grips with one of the central impulses of culturally and ethnically mixed societies: racism.

The question of why we need to think about how we research race demands a conceptualization of race that captures both its social construction and its temporal evolution. We need both an understanding of race and clarity about how we talk about it in our design and conduct of research, and in how we interpret and apply it in our findings. As a field, we can use research on race and racism in education to help construct social change. Our purpose with this volume is to underscore the persistence of the discriminatory actions-processes-and the normalization of the use of race (and class)-conditions-to justify the existing and growing disparity between the quality of life and opportunity for middle-class and more affluent Whites and that for people of color and people of color who live in poverty. As editors of this volume, we wonder what more we could learn and understand about the process and condition of race if we dare to ask bold questions about race and racism and commit to methods and analyses that respect the experiences and knowledges of our research participants and partners.

Towards Anti-Racist Educational Research explores how educational research can be an integral part of creating an anti-racist world, from radical moments to radical movements. The authors, coming from a diverse background, combine their voices, interests, hopes, purposes, and intellectual work in order to add to the current movement for equity.

The “ideal” 21st century public school teacher has a keen understanding of the racialized history of education and has already taken a critical stance regarding that history. This teacher is a changemaker and able to create classroom conditions that enable all children and youth to be changemakers as well. In order to assist teachers to become this ideal educator, antiracist professional development must be undertaken. Antiracist professional development has as its goal the transformation of teachers for the eventual transformation of classroom environments, instruction, and curricula to provide for equitable and inclusive educational experiences, particularly for students of color. Unfortunately, such transformative teacher professional development has been in short supply in the age of high-stakes standardized testing and the deprofessionalization of the teaching profession. Antiracist Professional Development for In-Service Teachers: Emerging Research and Opportunities is a crucial reference book that addresses the historical, sociological, and pedagogical background concerning racial issues in education. It proposes an antiracist model for professional development as a tool for transforming schools and teachers to be critically sensitive changemakers. Drawing upon more than 20 years of developing a transformative teaching master’s program, the book includes data from the authors’ national survey of teacher professional development, assignment examples, teacher work products, and the authors’ self-critique/reflections on their efforts to support teachers in transforming their practice. The book also presents the voices of P-12 teachers, including those who thought that they already “knew it all,” the new teacher at a punitive public charter school with high turnover, teachers who took leadership within the school and in the larger community, and teachers who significantly changed their classroom practice for the long-term. Moreover, the authors offer policy recommendations for teacher professional development experiences that meet the needs of all teachers; experiences that provide support for teachers’ professional growth, that have an immediate impact on student learning, and that create the conditions for school communities to work together as changemakers. It includes an epilogue that considers the urgency of these issues as were revealed by the 2020 global pandemic. As such, this book is ideal for teachers, teacher educators, educational leaders, administrators, policymakers, academicians, researchers, and students.

Despite the growing urgency for Critical Race Theory (CRT) in the field of education, the "how" of this theoretical framework can often be overlooked. This exciting edited collection presents different methods and methodologies, which are used by education researchers to investigate critical issues of racial justice in education from a CRT perspective. Featuring scholars from a range of disciplines, the chapters showcase how various researchers synthesize different methods—including qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods, and historical and archival research—with CRT to explore issues of equity and access in the field of education. Scholars discuss their current research approaches using CRT and present new models of conducting research within a CRT framework, offering a valuable contribution to ongoing methodological debates. Researchers across different levels of expertise will find the articulations of CRT and methods insightful and compelling.