Teachers' Commodified Relationships With Racial Justice Through Professional Development

Abstract

This chapter explores teachers' interpretations of racial justice-oriented professional development (PD). Findings emerge from surveys and interviews conducted with 74 teachers in Toronto, Canada. Data reveals that teachers' ideological positions have a direct relationship to their understanding of racial justice. Three patterns of thought emerged: 1) The majority of teachers interpreted racial justice to be a commodity that they expected be given to them. 2) Some teachers interpreted racial justice as a way to “save” racialized Others, and 3) a small number of teachers recognized racial justice to be an ongoing process of self-reflection. In this chapter, the authors argue white supremacist logics at the systemic level influence what racially just strategies and activities teachers imagine in terms of individual teachers' institutionalized ideological stances. Most importantly, the authors demonstrate how many teachers' uncritical interpretations of racial justice serve to reinforce white supremacy already present in the organizational norms of Canada's K-12 schooling.