White teachers teaching black history: a focus on comfort levels and culturally responsive teaching

The aim of this study is to investigate the challenges, successes, resources and comfort levels of white teachers of European descent who teach black history in schools. The research question that guided this study was – How are a sample of white teachers of European descent acknowledging their comfort levels and teaching black history with culturally relevant pedagogy? A qualitative study was conducted with face-to-face interviews that focused on two white high school teachers who identified as committed to but not comfortable with teaching black history. The data was analyzed and compared to literature to yield implications and recommendations for teachers. The findings exposed that the teacher’s commitment levels teaching the history of a group they did not identify with stemmed from identifying and reflecting on their own oppression. Their lack of comfort teaching black history stemmed from the lack of Canadian black history resources, their skin colour, and the immensity of the history itself. This research study provided a deeper understanding between the complex relationship of teacher’s identity, black history, and their comfort levels