An Emerging Methodological Approach to Anti-Racist Design and Implementation

Abstract

This chapter is about introducing critical race design (CRD), a research methodology that centers race and equity at the center of educational opportunities by design. First, the authors define design-based implementation research (DBIR) as an equity-oriented education research methodology where teaching and learning is informed by robust, iterative, evidence-based research conducted by multiple stakeholders. Next, they provide a brief overview of critical race theory in education (CRT) as a theoretical and methodological approach that aims to unpack and disrupt the structural inequities experienced by disenfranchised racial groups. They then describe how both education methodologies inform CRD, the authors' emerging anti-racist critical design methodology. Finally, they provide an example where they used CRD to design an online service-learning course that aims to situate the narratives of underrepresented STEM professionals as a curricular resource for nondominant adolescents.