Listening to teachers: Facilitating content and conditions for addressing issues of racism and xenophobia with youth in schools

Abstract

Teachers are uniquely positioned to promote racial and immigration justice in schools. This study draws on interviews with a U.S. educator sample (N = 26; 50% ethnoracially minoritized; 42.3% pre-K or elementary, 15.4% middle school, 34.6% high school) from a needs assessment for a public scholarship effort aimed at providing resources to advance anti-racism and anti-xenophobia. Combining a rigorous and accelerated data reduction (RADaR) method and reflexive thematic analysis, we developed 8 themes: 5 pertaining to substantive issues, 2 to format concerns, and 1 integrating both substance and format issues. Our expansive approach in the present study, including educators from early childhood through adolescence, allowed us to note both shared and unique needs for supporting race- and power-conscious ethnic-racial socialization, underscoring the importance of this process across developmental periods. These insights could help professional development providers and facilitators, program developers, and school leaders implement teacher-informed approaches to support teachers’ racial learning.