A Critical Ethnography of Preservice Teachers' Imagined Emotions and Racial Engagement

Abstract

Teacher education programs in the United States continue to be predominantly white in both faculty and student demographics, with curricular structures that often marginalize or isolate discussions of race and systemic racism (Sleeter, 2017; Milner, 2010). These programs frequently confine issues of diversity to a single multicultural education course. As a result, preservice teachers often enter the profession without having critically engaged with their own racial identities or the broader impacts of systemic racism within educational contexts (King & Butler, 2015; Ladson-Billings, 1999). This critical ethnography, framed by Critical Whiteness Studies (CWS), explores the imagined emotions and anticipated responses of ten preservice teachers as they consider addressing race in their future teaching practice. Findings reveal that while participants commonly experience fear and discomfort when envisioning these engagements. The study underscores the need for teacher education programs to prioritize critical conversations about race and its influence on teacher development.