Critical race theory and White privilege awareness among Bachelor of Education alumni

This thesis was completed and submitted at Nipissing University, and is made freely accessible through the University of Toronto’s TSpace repositoryUsing critical race theory (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995), critical pedagogy (Darder, Baltodano & Torres, 2009) and Whiteness theory (Frankenberg, 1993) as core theoretical frameworks, this study examines the extent to which teacher candidates feel that they are challenged to engage in critical discussions of race and White privilege within their Bachelor of Education courses. Previous research suggests that despite intentions to deliver culturally responsive curricula, concepts of critical race theory and Whiteness theories are rarely incorporated within teacher education programs (Picower, 2009). Therefore, teacher candidates graduate with little or no knowledge of how race and White privilege operates in the classroom, leaving them poorly prepared to teach students from diverse backgrounds (Sleeter, 2017). This study examines how graduates of an Ontario Bachelor of Education program experienced learning about race and privilege, and explores implications for course design, professors,teacher candidates and the Bachelor of Education recruitment process.M.Ed