University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Theses and Dissertations 1-1-2013 I Can Be Silent and Be Saying a Lot: Teachers' Racial Literacy in a Southern Elementary School Kimberly J. Howard University of South Carolina Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd Part of the Geography Commons Recommended Citation Howard, K. J.(2013). I Can Be Silent and Be Saying a Lot: Teachers' Racial Literacy in a Southern Elementary School. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/1235 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you by Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. I CAN BE SILENT AND BE SAYING A LOT: TEACHERS’ RACIAL LITERACY IN A SOUTHERN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL By Kimberly J. Howard Bachelor of Arts Winthrop University, 2001 Master of Arts San Diego State University, 2004 ______________________________________________ Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Foundations of Education Department of Educational Studies University of South Carolina 2013 Accepted by: Michelle Bryan, Major Professor Gloria Boutte, Committee Member Kara Brown, Committee Member Sandra Schmidt, Committee Member Lacy Ford, Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies © Copyright by Kimberly J. Howard, 2013 All Rights Reserved. ii DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this dissertation to the teachers of Creek and beyond who take risks in the pursuit of equity in education for all students. I also dedicate this work to Marianna and all of my students at Creek Elementary who deserve educators who are willing to engage in difficult dialogues so that every young person is recognized and celebrated for their unique potential for greatness. These students inspire me to keep asking questions about the borders of our lives. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of my committee who have been remarkable teachers along this journey. Your wisdom and guidance has contributed to this work, and you have inspired me to continue to ask difficult questions in order to discover healing answers. I would also like to thank my friends and writing partners who have given me great advice, inspiration, and reminded me why this work must be done. In particular, I would like to thank Kindel Nash, Sophia Rodriguez, and Ashlee Lewis for your loving support over the years. Finally, I will forever be grateful to my family for being who you are and reminding me who I am throughout this entire process. To my mother who listened to countless hours of social theory over the phone, laughed with me when I was too serious, cried with me when I wanted to give up, and gave me hope when it seemed lost, you are among my greatest blessings. To my children Jonas, Micah, and Kyeson who have been a part of the process each and every day, as I watch you grow, you remind me why I work to challenge the realities of today in pursuit of a better tomorrow. Your innocence, wisdom beyond your years, and unique spirits make me dream big dreams and work with a purpose. Finally, this work would not have been possible if not for the love of my life and partner in all things, Travis Howard. I am amazed by your leadership and vision as an educator, your dedication to our family, and your enduring love and support for me. Every time that I started to lose my focus you stood beside me, helped me to take one iv more step and find “joy in the journey.” I cannot possibly capture all that you have done for me as I write these final words. You continue to be an inspiration. v ABSTRACT In order to better understand how teachers make sense of race in schools today, this ethnographic study explores the following research question: How do teachers in this school make sense of race, and how does the spatiality of the school inform this process? The study was conducted over a 14-month period in a southern elementary school and is presented as a poetic, narrative, and thematic analysis of the connections between the geographic location of this particular school and the teachers’ practices, pedagogies, and conversations about race both inside their classrooms and in other school spaces. This study demonstrates how teachers’ racial (il)literacy is manifested in spatialized moments that have real and lasting implications for teachers and students in the school. Results from this study provided the foundation for a conceptual tool that could be utilized by educational researchers interested in better understanding the intersections of geographic place and race in educational settings. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ……...............................................................................................................iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................... iv ABSTRACT …....................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................ x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1 Beginning with the Borders of My Classroom ............................................................ 1 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................ 3 Study Overview .......................................................................................................... 6 Study Purpose and Research Questions ...................................................................... 7 Study Contributions .................................................................................................... 8 Defining Key Terms ................................................................................................. 10 CHAPTER 2: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ................................................................. 18 Review of Relevant Literature and Related Studies ................................................. 18 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................. 28 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................... 53 Study Design …......................................................................................................... 53 Data Collection ......................................................................................................... 58 Participants …............................................................................................................ 70 Context ……….......................................................................................................... 74 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................ 74 vii Reflexivity …… ........................................................................................................ 81 Limitations …............................................................................................................ 92 CHAPTER 4: “WELCOME TO OUR MULTICULTURAL SCHOOL”: TEACHERS’ LIVED EXPERIENCE OF RACIAL “DIVERSITY” IN CREEK .............. 95 Creek ……………..................................................................................................... 97 Creek Elementary ................................................................................................... 100 Public Narrative ...................................................................................................... 104 Environmentally Correct: Racial Knowledge Teachers Rarely Said Out-Loud ..... 109 CHAPTER 5: DEFINING SELF, DEFINING TEACHER, AND A PLACE THAT DOESN’T WANT ME ............................................................................... 132 Personal Racialized Histories ................................................................................. 132 White Teachers Discussing Race at Creek Elementary .......................................... 137 Can I Be a Teacher at Creek Elementary? .............................................................. 139 CHAPTER 6: RACIALIZED MOMENTS IN THE CLASSROOM ................................ 153 Instruction ………. .................................................................................................. 153 Unplanned ………................................................................................................... 162 Embodied ……….................................................................................................... 165 Recognizing Racialized Moments ........................................................................... 171 CHAPTER 7: DISCUSSION.............................................................................................. 175 Teachers’ Lived Spaces in Creek............................................................................. 175 Race in the Classroom ............................................................................................ 199 CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS ................................................. 213 Borders Like These Walls: A Place to Begin a New Conversation ........................ 213 Racial Texts ...........................................................................................................