Digital Storytelling as Racial Justice: Digital Hopes for Deconstructing Whiteness in Teacher Education

Cheryl E. Matias, Tanetha J. Grosland

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

52 Scopus citations

Abstract

Teacher education is replete with an overwhelming presence of Whiteness, a presence that if not explicitly interrogated indefinitely recycles hegemonic Whiteness. Needed are pedagogical strategies that expose the hegemonic invisibility of Whiteness. This critical reflection examines the utilization of digital storytelling by teacher educators of color to pedagogically deconstruct Whiteness in a predominately White, urban-focused teacher education course—a necessary deconstruction if these teacher candidates are to effectively teach urban students of color. Particularly, this article deconstructs four academic years of digital stories produced in a mandatory diversity course in an urban teacher education program and illustrates how digital storytelling itself promotes a critical self-revelation that confront Whiteness in White teacher candidates. The preliminary analyses suggest that digital storytelling is a racially just way of having White teacher candidates self-reflect on their own Whiteness in a multitude of ways, by (a) ending emotional distancing, (b) debunking colorblindness, (c) engaging emotions, and (d) sharing the burden of race.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)152-164
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of Teacher Education
Volume67
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1 2016

Keywords

  • class
  • gender
  • race
  • sexual orientation
  • teacher beliefs
  • teacher education preparation
  • teacher learning
  • urban teacher education

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Education

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