Teacher Preparedness to Teach Antiracist and Equity Education

This research study evaluated novice teachers preparedness to teach antiracist and equity education based on the training they received during their preservice teacher education program. The research study utilized a qualitative research design and semi-structured interviews were conducted with two novice teachers. The five themes that emerged from the data included comprehension of antiracist and multicultural education, preservice teacher education program, novice teacher preparedness, resources and implementation into the classroom, and limitations in the preservice teacher education program. The research findings indicated that the participants were able to articulate the differences between multicultural and antiracist education; the importance of the course instructor’s role, class discussions, and classmates in their understanding of antiracist and equity education; and that teacher preparedness and classroom implementation was determined by the accessibility of resources. Additionally, the preservice teacher training on antiracist and equity education was received differently for the racial minority and the Caucasian novice teacher. The recommendations outlined were to have antiracist and equity education as mandatory courses during preservice teacher education programs and that course structure and content should focus on providing resources to teacher candidates