Deconstructing Whiteness: Uncovering Prospective Teachers' Understandings of Their Culture–A Latina Professor's Perspective

Abstract

This qualitative case study focuses on White prospective teachers' exploration of their cultural identities. Through writing, as a tool for reflection, 46 teacher education students exposed their understandings about what it means to be White. Deconstructing whiteness became a starting point to reflect on issues about race and cross-cultural experiences for my students and for me, their Latina professor.

Notes

¹The real names of the students have been changed to protect their confidentiality.

²The Census 2000 School District Tabulation (STP2) is prepared by the U.S. Census Bureau's Population Division and sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics.

³I purposefully use the terms race, culture, and cultural-racial interchangeably throughout this article. Drawing a line to separate the meanings of these terms in certain contexts can be limiting or misleading, particularly when referring to Whiteness. Throughout this article, Whiteness is discussed as culture rather than as a racial category.