“My Eyes have been Opened”

Abstract

A life history approach was used to examine the narratives of 6 White teachers of racially diverse classrooms who had been nominated as being “aware of race and racism” by a diverse panel of experts. The teachers’ responses to race were examined by semistructured interviews, a drawing of their racial identity, and a classroom visit that examined classroom artifacts and teacher-student interactions. Narrative analysis revealed that teachers’ perceptions of racial awareness were influenced by (a) perceived identity as “outsiders,” due to class background or sexual orientation, that enabled them to disidentify with the White mainstream; (b) living and working with individuals of other races in relationships that approximated “equal status” and exposed them to “insider” perspectives on race and racism; and (c) personal religious/philosophical beliefs that emphasized equality and social justice concerns. Implications for restructuring teacher education programs include revising candidate selection criteria, increasing the racial diversity of students and faculty, experiencing “immersion” in communities of color, and using autobiographical narrative as a pedagogical tool.