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Article
Responding to “Innocent” Racism: Educating Teachers In Politically Reflexive and Dialogic Engagement In Local Communities
Journal of Urban Learning, Teaching, and Research (2011)
  • Fatima Pirbhai-Illich
  • Theresa Y. Austin, University of Massachusetts - Amherst
  • Patricia Paugh
  • Yvonne Farino
Abstract

This article develops the construct of ―innocent racism‖ and argues for keeping questions of race central in teacher education. The authors report three cases in which they, teacher educators working within a school/university alliance, identified and addressed racism in their courses. We situate our analyses within antiracist research informed by Critical Race Theory (CRT) where the teacher education students and ourselves struggled to recognize and address racism. Critical episodes are reflectively analyzed to challenge both teacher educators‘ and teachers‘ beliefs. We demonstrate how race still matters because of the ways in which it intersects with our practices. Examples of struggles that address emerging positions on race, language, and educational processes inform teacher and faculty learning with important local and global implications.

Keywords
  • Critical race theory; teacher education; university/school partnerships
Disciplines
Publication Date
2011
Citation Information
Fatima Pirbhai-Illich, Theresa Y. Austin, Patricia Paugh and Yvonne Farino. "Responding to “Innocent” Racism: Educating Teachers In Politically Reflexive and Dialogic Engagement In Local Communities" Journal of Urban Learning, Teaching, and Research Vol. 7 (2011)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/theresa_austin/12/