Under the cloak of professionalism: covert racism in teacher education

Abstract

This study focuses on manifestations of racism and colonialism in teacher education. I build on the theoretical framing of Critical Race Theory and decolonization in order to expose racist and colonial assumptions at the core of teacher education. I highlight in particular the work of covert racism under the cloak of teachers’ professionalism. I focus on what I call ‘professional microaggressions’: subtle forms of racism and colonialism hidden beneath professional definitions. By interviewing graduates of a well-established Indigenous teacher education program in British Columbia, Canada, I examine the mechanisms that still hinder the success of Indigenous teacher candidates in teacher education and in the school system. The study highlights the resilience, resistance, and strategic planning that Indigenous teachers use to challenge the system while advancing their position within it. Lastly, I suggest ways to support Indigenous teacher candidates in teacher education.

Keywords:

• Pre-service teacher education
• Indigenous education
• whiteness
• Critical Race Theory
• decolonization

Acknowledgment

I would like to thank the reviewers and editor for their encouraging and useful feedback. I would like to thank the participants for sharing their stories and knowledge with me. My highest respect to the important work that you do to make Canadian education system better.

Notes

1. The TRC was created as an outcome of a class action legal settlement between residential school survivors and the Canadian Government. It aimed to publicly acknowledge the harm done to Indigenous Peoples in Canadian residential schools, and the intergenerational trauma still affecting many families and communities. The TRC issued 94 ‘Calls to Action’ in its final report (TRC 2015).

2. Many terms are used to refer to Indigenous Peoples; some convey misconceptions, others are related to specific contexts or historical periods. In this article, I use Indigenous, which is commonly used in the global perspective, or Aboriginal, which refers to Canada’s Indigenous population including, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (Vowel 2016).

3. In order to maintain the anonymity of the university and of the program, I use an acronym for the Indigenous teacher education program (ITE); I also refrain from supplying full references that would give this information away.

4. There are around 232,000 Indigenous Peoples in BC. About two thirds are First Nations and a third Métis. First Nations in BC belong to many Nations and speak more than 30 languages (BC Government 2011). BC’s territory is mostly unceded, which means that there was only one set of historical treaties (the Douglas treaties on Vancouver Island); the rest of the territory was never ceded in a legal agreement. Modern Treaties are currently in process with many Nations (BC Treaty Commission 2017).

5. About a third of Canada’s First Nations population live on reserves; the rest are spread between the provinces and territories (Statistic Canada 2015). This distribution has a lot to do with Canada’s discriminatory policies. During the operation of residential schools about 150,000 Indigenous children were taken from their families. Another policy, the Sixties Scoop, took an estimated 20,000 Indigenous children and put them in foster care or adoption by White, middle-class families. Indigenous children still make up a disproportionate number of kids in foster care--almost 50% (TRC 2015).