“It’s the Teacher’s Responsibility:” Examining Pre-service and In-service Teachers’ Responses to Racial Discrimination

ABSTRACT

In K-12 settings, misunderstandings of racial dynamics and color-blind attitudes may stymie teachers from adequately addressing racial discrimination amongst students. This study qualitatively asked if, why, and how pre- and in-service teachers would hypothetically intervene on racial discrimination toward a Black student, and whether color-blind racial attitudes in teachers manifest in their intervention approaches. Findings suggest pre- and in-service educators intend to intervene on racial discrimination. However, the rationale and strategies for intervening often reflect color-blind or biased racial attitudes, suggesting the need for consultation professionals to support teachers in implementing more effective intervention strategies. Given the racial nature of this consultation need, the authors present the multicultural consultation framework as a potentially useful lens through which consultants can work with educators on discrimination intervention.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Blair A. Baker

Blair Baker, Ph.D Dr. Blair A. Baker is an assistant professor in the School Psychology program at Cleveland State University. She received her B.S. in English, Spanish, and Psychology from Central Michigan University, and she received her doctorate in school psychology from Indiana University, Bloomington. Dr. Baker utilizes qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate two related research topics: 1) educators’ intervention approaches to racism among students, and 2) experiences of racial battle fatigue among Black students in secondary education settings. Her work aims to establish racially centered interventions that reduce the plight of racial stress among Black students and, more importantly, prevent Black students’ exposure to racial discrimination at school.

Summer Davis

Summer Davis, Ph.D. Summer Davis is an assistant professor of secondary education within the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Educational Studies at Western Michigan University. Her research focuses on intersections of teacher education, induction, literacy, humanizing pedagogy, and social justice. Before earning her PhD, she spent nearly fifteen years as a secondary English/Language Arts teacher.

Kerrie G. Wilkins-Yel

Kerrie G. Wilikins-Yel, Ph.D Kerrie Wilkins-Yel, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Boston, MA, USA. Her research broadly focuses on equity, justice, and access both at work and in pursuit of work. Specifically, she takes an intersectional approach to understanding the influence of oppression and marginalization on the academic and career development of women from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. In addition to her scholarship, Dr. Wilkins-Yel addresses race- and gender-based inequities in STEM by developing culturally sustaining interventions through interdisciplinary research-practice-partnerships. Dr. Wilkins-Yel is a National Science Foundation Early CAREER fellow, and her work has been supported by approximately $5M in federal and private grant awards.

Atrayee Mukherjee

Atrayee Mukherjee, M.S.Ed Atrayee Mukherjee is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associate who is currently working at Asian Counseling and Referral Service to provide mental health services to Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities in the Seattle, WA area. She received both her B.A. in Psychology and her M.S.Ed. in Mental Health Counseling from Indiana University Bloomington. Her research interests center on the experiences and resilience of Asian first and second generation immigrants in predominantly white societal contexts. She has had experience providing clinical mental health services in English, Bengali, and Hindi.

Adrian Paneto

Adrian Paneto, M.S.Ed Adrian Paneto is a Doctoral Candidate of Counseling Psychology in the Department of Education and Counseling Psychology at the Indiana University-Bloomington. He also holds a Master of Science in Education degree from Indiana University-Bloomington. Adrian is completing an APA-accredited internship at Duke University Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) for the 2022-23 academic year. His scholarly work focuses on studying the impact of cultural and substance use factors on emerging adult Latino mental health.