"I don't think I'm a racist": Critical Race Theory, teacher attitudes, and structural racism

Sabina E. Vaught, Angelina E. Castagno

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

197 Scopus citations

Abstract

This article is an ethnographic examination of teacher attitudes towards race, racism, and White privilege in response to anti-bias in-service trainings in two major U.S. urban school districts through the theoretical lens of Critical Race Theory. We employ the analytic tools of Whiteness as property to make sense of the messages teachers perceived and developed about race and racism. Further, we examine what teacher attitudes reveal about the structural dimensions of racial inequity in schooling and achievement. We argue that the racial attitudes expressed by teachers in this study are illustrative of larger structural racism that both informs and is reinforced by these attitudes and their manifestation in practice.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)95-113
Number of pages19
JournalRace Ethnicity and Education
Volume11
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2008

Keywords

  • Critical Race Theory
  • Race
  • Teacher attitudes
  • Teacher training
  • Whiteness

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Demography
  • Cultural Studies
  • Education

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