“Sixth grade is too late”: A case study of diversity education for elementary grades
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Abstract
Recent high-profile events and rhetoric surrounding White supremacist ideology in conjunction with recent data about White Americans’ understanding of structural racism has illustrated the problematic nature of White Americans’ conceptions of race and racism. In a society where Whiteness is normalized and seldom challenged, White Americans tend struggle with applying structural and institutional lenses to racial inequality. Further, American education often lacks conversations about race and racism that invoke structural and institutional perspectives, particularly at the elementary level, contributing to the misunderstandings of race and racism among White people. Seeking to address this problem from an education perspective, this study aims to contribute to the scholarship of anti-racist and multicultural education by exploring ways in which racial literacy may be facilitated within White students. A case study method was conducted to explore one elementary school’s use of a diversity curriculum as multicultural education with its predominantly White student body, including the associated perceptions and attitudes about the curriculum among a sample of White administrators, teachers, and fifth grade students. Through lesson observations, interviews with adults and students, and a review of lesson plans, qualitative data were gathered and analyzed through a framework of multicultural education and Critical Whiteness theory. Results suggested six primary characteristics of the diversity curriculum, including: (1) a grounding in the school mission statement, (2) an investment in the racial literacy of teachers and staff, (3) an organic and evolving nature, (4) a multi-faceted approach to diversity topics, (5) the use of sound instructional strategies, and (6) an emphasis on parent involvement and communication. Results of teacher perceptions and attitudes indicated teachers believed in: (1) the necessity of racial literacy to teach the curriculum, (2) the need to provide space for students, parents, and faculty/staff of Color, (3) the benefit of the program for White students, (4) a personal investment in the curriculum, and (5) room for growth for the program. Finally, data from student interviews suggested that students: (1) had mixed feelings about the enjoyment of the lessons, (2) remembered specific memorable topics, and (3) understood diversity as difference. Results from the study suggested implications for moving toward effective anti-racist education for elementary school students, including the power of conversations as vehicles toward greater racial literacy for White children and adults, a spiraling nature of racial literacy among administrators and teachers, meaningful stakeholder inclusion, social studies as anti-racist work, and possibilities for public schools enacting similar curriculum efforts.