Teachers’ Talk About Race and Caregiver Support: “You Can NEVER Be Too Sure About Parents”

Abstract

This study focused on teachers’ perceptions of caregiver support for engaging in conversations about race in the classroom. We analyzed data from the Teachers’ Race Talk Survey, an exploratory survey that examines teachers’ perceptions about discussing race and racial violence in the classroom. Our analyses suggested that respondents espoused broad uncertainty for talking about race with regard to parental support. Teachers explained their responses drawing on four primary logics: (a) context characteristics, (b) family characteristics, (c) teacher characteristics, and (d) subject. We connected logics to social and cultural capital theory to further explain connections between caregivers and teacher race talk.