Constructions of Race and Equity in a Suburban School: Teachers, School Social Workers, and Other School Staff as Nepantleras and Border Crossers

Abstract

Suburban schools, particularly those with majority white histories experiencing demographic shifts, are increasingly in need of addressing issues of racial equity. This qualitative study, using the extended case method, examined one suburban school district’s efforts to promote racial equity and focused particularly on how professional development was experienced by school personnel and on the perceived outcomes. Data sources for this study included focus groups with teachers, pupil personnel services professionals, and other school staff and administrators as well as observational data from participation in district events and meetings. This study is grounded in Gloria Anzaldúa’s nepantlera framework, which conceptualizes the in-between space between two or more cultures and those who occupy that space as “border crossers,” and nepantleras as cultural navigators, bridge builders, and advocates. Noteworthy themes included perceptions of the district’s level of commitment to racial equity; common barriers to facilitating racial equity training, such as white racial prejudice, resistance, and defensiveness; and the challenge of navigating self- and student social identities for teachers and staff of color. Implications for equity work in schools and the role of school social workers training are discussed.

Conversations about equity in education have become commonplace as the relationship between race and academic achievement has gained increased scholarly focus and national attention (Noguera, 2008; Sánchez Santamaría & Manzanares Moya, 2014). Yet, despite this increased attention, Latinx and Black youths continue to experience disparities in academic achievement compared to white students (Banks & Dohy, 2019), including experiencing higher dropout rates; greater academic grade retention rates (Peguero, Varela, Marchbanks, Blake, & Eason, 2018); overrepresentation in special education programs (Banks & Dohy, 2019; Ford & Russo, 2016; Noguera, 2008); underrepresentation in honors courses, Advanced Placement courses, and gifted programs; and overrepresentation in discipline referrals (Graefe & Ritchotte, 2019; Noguera, 2008; Vega & Moore, 2018). For Black and Latinx boys, schools are often a pipeline to prison (American Civil Liberties Union, 2008; Smith, 2015; Winn & Behizadeh, 2011).

Racial equity involves decolonizing the classroom and school policies through actions such as implementing a curriculum that changes dominant narratives and addressing policies regarding program placement and disciplinary practices (Banks & Dohy, 2019; Peguero et al., 2018; Wells, Fox, & Cordova-Cobo, 2016). Addressing these issues in a substantive manner involves a complex process requiring interprofessional collaboration, sufficient funding, and political will, and with school social workers, teachers, and district leaders taking professional risks and making significant time and personal commitments (Meyers, Goree, & Burton, 2019). School social workers can and should be at the frontlines of this work because they are charged with addressing issues of racial climate and equity as a profession and have the skills to lead and facilitate this work (Frey et al., 2017). Thus, school social workers can play an important role in supporting equity work in their schools by engaging with critical theories, such as the nepantlera framework. Nepantla refers to a liminal space that provides possibility for transformation; as a space between worlds or cultures, it can be a space of chaos, pain, and discomfort (Keating, 2015; Prieto & Villenas, 2012).

Another important factor associated with prioritizing racial equity training in public schools relates to the current political climate. Since 2016, targeted hostility and bias-based bullying has increased (Andrews, Richmond, & Stroupe, 2017). The most common reason for bullying is related to the victim’s physical appearance, race or ethnic identity, gender, religion, disability, or sexual orientation (National Center for Education Statistics, 2019). Short- and long-term consequences of bias-based bullying include poor school performance, depression and anxiety, and increased health problems (Mulvey, Hoffman, Gönültaş, Hope, & Cooper, 2018; Rigby, 2003). Furthermore, far too many cases of bullying go unreported to parents and school personnel, thus hindering a school’s ability to effectively address the problem (Petrosino, Guckenburg, DeVoe, & Hanson, 2010).

Teachers—in this article, we use “teachers and other school staff” to describe teachers, teacher aides, social workers, counselors, school psychologists, and school administrators—and students navigate the lived reality of the tensions between the rhetoric of equity and the reality of daily practices that disenfranchise and disempower students and teachers of color and their allies (Gutiérrez, 2012; Morris, Selmer, Martucci, White, & Goodykoontz, 2011). Much of the literature on equity focuses on teachers rather than on other school-based staff; thus, the aforementioned references focus on teachers. However, we believe that this research can be applied to other school-based staff, such as social workers and counselors. Teachers have reported feeling constrained by policy, which affects what they can do in the classroom (Akamine Phillips, Risdon, Lamsma, Hambrick, & Jun, 2019). Yet teachers and other school staff, such as school social workers, can be a powerful force in shaping and changing institutional and daily practices (Villarreal Sosa, 2011). One way they can do this is by championing racial equity in the classroom, schools, and districts, which, as referenced earlier, requires both a willingness to take professional risks as well as a commitment to increasing their knowledge of racial diversity and equity, including their professional involvement in activities designed to achieve a climate of authentic racial equity (Meyers et al., 2019; Vescio, Ross, & Adams, 2008). In the suburban school district described in this article, the equity training and the study’s focus groups were open to all employees who desired to participate in committees and professional development opportunities.

For school social workers, the risks involved in equity work can be heightened by the precarious nature of school social workers in a host setting. Although social workers have been part of the public school system since the 1900s, they have often been sporadically funded and subject to eliminations in times of budget constraints (Stone, 2017). Nevertheless, given the social work professional mandate to address social justice and inequities, school social workers should consider their role in supporting district- and school-level equity work, such as the initiative in the district described in this article.

Currently, there is a need for empirical studies that move beyond mere descriptive analyses and answer the questions of what efforts achieve holistic racial equity in public schools and what barriers exist that hamper or halt these desired ends. Despite the increased attention on racial equity in public education, few studies have focused on the experiences of teachers and other school staff engaged in racial equity training, therefore leaving gaps in the understanding of the experiences and trajectories of racial equity training and programs as well as the academic, social, and psychological trajectory of the students they serve.

The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of teachers and other school staff of a racial equity process implemented in a racially and ethnically diverse public school district in suburban Cook County, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago). In a suburban school district that is learning to work with a demographic shift in its student population, there have been numerous programs to serve the needs of the students in the district. Despite these efforts, significant achievement gaps persist: Sixty-five percent of white students have met or exceeded state standards in reading, whereas only 31 percent of Black students and 47 percent of Latino students have met or exceeded state standards (Illinois At-A-Glance Report Card 2018–2019, n.d.). Although the need to better understand the equity work in the suburban context has been widely acknowledged (Noguera, 2008), few studies have focused on racial equity programs in suburban schools, leaving gaps in our understanding of these contexts.

Noguera (2008) described the achievement paradox in the suburbs: Well-resourced schools in the suburbs are largely unable to produce similar success with students of color compared to white students. When considering the needs of low-income or minority students, those in suburban schools assumed to have adequate resources are often neglected. However, current research on suburban communities has documented a growing poverty rate combined with a weak social safety net that often leaves the school system as one of the only sources of social support for these low-income and immigrant families (Roth, Gonzalez, & Lesniewski, 2015). At the same time, the limited research on suburban schools has suggested that suburban schools exacerbate racial patterns of inequality in achievement (Nunn, 2011).

Theoretical Framework

Nepantlera and the Borderlands

A useful paradigm for envisioning and evaluating teacher and district leaders’ effectiveness in creating cultural climates in which students of color can flourish academically is the concept of nepantlera, a Nahuatl word that Gloria Anzaldúa, queer Chicana feminist, used to describe those individuals operating in a place of ambiguity and possibility for change; a space in between cultures (Reza-López, Huerta Charles, & Reyes, 2014). Nepantleras are advocates and intermediaries who navigate the in-between, “overlapping and layered” cultural spaces and realities of different cultures (Keating, 2006). They serve as change agents with the goal of inspiring others toward greater cultural awareness (Anzaldúa, 2002). In this sense, they are true bridge builders between members of the majority population and those living in the margins, or what Anzaldúa (2002) referred to as the “borderlands” (Kasun, 2014).

In this in-between space—this metaphorical borderland—as described by Anzaldúa (1987), a person has not yet fully developed a new identity but has not left the old identity behind. Nepantleras are in transition—in an uncomfortable space in which they must hold the tensions of the new and old identities despite the discomfort this in-between place can cause. Nepantleras, or those who engage from a nepantlera space, reach out to all parties in an attempt to create an environment in which everyone belongs regardless of their race, gender, or other characteristics (Anzaldúa, 2002). In this sense, they are border crossers, those who negotiate multiple cultures and the multidimensionality of identity (Anzaldúa, 1987) even if the borders are only cultural and not geographic. Keating and González-López (2011) described how nepantleras represent and witness to all sides even though their refusal to take sides can make them vulnerable to criticism and loss of control. Keating and González-López (2011) also described how nepantleras are visionaries who work in diverse environments to “bring about revolutionary change” (p. 6), noting how nepantleras respect differences while simultaneously identifying commonalities to awaken this racial understanding of others.

The concept of nepantlera has been applied to educational settings in numerous studies with regard to both teachers and students serving in the role of nepantleras (Aguilar-Valdez et al., 2013; Gutiérrez, 2012; Kasun, 2014, 2015; Reza-López et al., 2014). To date, this concept has not been widely applied to social work generally or to school social work specifically—with one exception. Villarreal Sosa (2019) proposed a nepantlera framework as one critical theory necessary for school social workers to effectively meet the needs of Latinx and immigrant youths in an anti-immigrant and xenophobic context. Also, although Anzaldúa (2002) originally conceptualized nepantlera/s with regard to cross-border existence (Mexicans/Chicanxs living in the borderlands, straddling two cultures), the concept of nepantlera has been expanded to describe anyone navigating the space between two or more cultures, such as whites working with African Americans (Disch, 2006) or Arab Americans (Fadda-Conrey, 2006). In this sense, teachers and other school staff working in educational settings can be conceptualized as nepantleras who work to ensure that all members of a diverse community are perceived holistically and that pedagogy based on dominant cultural understanding is replaced by a more holistic pedagogy that reflects a range of cultural knowledge (Aguilar-Valdez et al., 2013).

Social Identity as a Framework for Understanding Racial Identity

Using the concept of nepantlera to envision teachers and other school staff (and the students they serve) as advocates for racial equity requires a keen understanding of how teachers and other school staff understand their own social identities as well as how students of color and immigrant youths construct and navigate their social identity. Social identity refers to how individuals define themselves in their own social context with regard to stigmatized social groups to which they belong and the emotional significance they attach to that membership (Hurtado, 2003b; Pizarro, 2005; Tajfel, 1978). Much of the difference in achievement between groups is a result of the ways in which social identities related to race and gender are constructed in the school setting (Noguera, 2008; Villarreal Sosa, 2011).

These constructions of social identity then affect the behavior of students and teachers as well as other school staff. Gaining insights into how teachers and other school staff understand their own privilege and oppression is key to understanding the context they create for their students. Randolph (2013) described the impact of teachers’ underlying assumptions about ethnicity and race on the experiences of minoritized youths, noting that teachers attach different value and meaning to students’ social identities based on their own perceptions of ethnicity, race, and the students’ community context. Randolph described how, in two multiracial schools in a segregated community, some teachers identified certain minority groups as contributing “good diversity” while believing that others contributed “bad diversity.” For instance, some teachers saw the diversity of immigrant students to be refreshing (for example, a sense of innocence) and Asian students to be desirable (for example, academic abilities) but found the diversity of Black students to be dispiriting (for example, being too hardened). Randolph noted how the meaning that teachers attach to various racial and ethnic minority groups as well as the social hierarchies they create in response is important to understand, because these dynamics influence how racial equity programs are perceived and implemented.

Education researchers have significantly advanced our understanding of the processes leading to differences in academic achievement between groups, yet there is much more that needs to be understood about the role that schools play in shaping gender and racial identities as well as the subsequent expectations and behavior that teachers and students develop in response to these identities (Noguera, 2008). Although there have been many examples proffered of schools that are able to achieve academic outcomes in a more equitable manner (Bryk, Lee, & Holland, 1993; Noguera, 2008), often schools fail to make necessary changes as a result of a range of dynamics, including unidentified barriers (Payne, 2010; Secada et al., 1998).

Exploring how a school’s context and microsociological processes, such as teachers' and other school staff’s social identities, mediate behavior can deepen our understanding of how schools can change practices that contribute to inequalities. The present study aims to do just that by providing opportunities for teachers and other school staff to share their perceptions of and thoughts about their district’s attempts to integrate racial equity training for all employees. Guiding this inquiry are four research questions: (1) How do teachers and other school staff understand their own racial identities in this suburban school context? (2) How do teachers and other school staff define “equity,” and how does their understanding inform how they work with students? (3) How do teachers and other school staff who act as nepantleras—cultural navigators and bridge builders—promote equity in the school? (4) What do teachers and other school staff see as the challenges and successes of the various equity initiatives, such as professional development, programming, and institutional changes, which can create barriers to becoming nepantleras?

Method

This qualitative study used the extended case method (ECM), which combines an ethnographic and case study approach. ECM combines qualitative research from various traditions, such as in-depth interviewing, case study research, and ethnographic data, and emphasizes a reflexive model of science, which allows for an expansion or refinement of existing theories (Burawoy, 1998; Miranda, 2002; Villarreal Sosa, 2011). ECM uses reflexive techniques of analysis, transcending conventional dichotomies such as micro versus macro or participant versus observer (Burawoy, 2009), by recognizing the possible coexistence of these dichotomies. According to Burawoy (1998), we cannot separate ourselves from the world we study and are, therefore, both participant and observer.

This position as both participant and observer was one the first author (LVS) experienced as she entered the field and analyzed the interview data. She had both insider and outsider positionalities as a former school social worker in a similar suburban context and as a minoritized faculty member, and now as a researcher with outsider status. As a school social worker, the first author was invested in understanding the equity work in this school district and the roles of various school professionals involved in racial equity work and providing the technical assistance to support this work.

The second author (MM) is also a former school social worker, but as one of the only Caucasians on an urban campus within two hours of the United States–Mexico border, she recognized and acknowledged her simultaneous insider and outsider status both then and now. As a school social worker, the second author consistently acted in the role of nepantlera for students of color despite, at that time, being unaware of the term. As the second author reflected on the data in the present study, she acknowledged her former experiences in the public school system within the context of her white privileged status working in a diverse school system. As a white faculty member and researcher currently exploring racial equity, she is also positioned as an outsider to the experiences of faculty of color and students as well as an insider to the journeys of other white teachers and school staff. Both the first and the second authors maintained awareness of their positionality as they identified themes and attributed meaning throughout the analysis process.

ECM is a collaborative process of knowledge construction (Burawoy et al., 1991) that reflects an attempt to combine the strengths of different qualitative approaches through its inclusion of participant observation (ethnography), extension of data collection and analysis to multiple sources through interviews (case method), and concern for theory development that includes emic standpoints (grounded theory; Samuels, 2009). The ECM is not a “cookbook” but a method that can be reconstructed with various cases (Eliasoph & Lichterman, 1999; Samuels, 2009). Because of the increased emphasis in the social sciences on incorporating lived experiences into theory development, there has been a corresponding need for methods that are dynamic in understanding how shared sociopolitical contexts combine with individual agency. As theory is developed or extended from the lived experience, these discourses of hybrid, fragmented, border-crossing realities can be incorporated into school social work research and theory development (Hurtado, 2003a; Miranda, 2002; Murillo, 2003; Samuels & Ross-Sheriff, 2008; Sandoval, 2000).

In this work, the use of the concept of nepantlera evolved through the initial discussions with the district equity leadership team (DEL team) and the first author’s presentation of preliminary results from the focus groups. The preliminary results aligned with Reza-López et al.’s (2014) work because of the descriptions of identity work, the holding of uncomfortable discussions of the racialized realities of students of color, and the development of critical consciousness in teachers and other school staff. Although this work was not originally framed in this way, through the conversations with the DEL team, it appeared that this concept of nepantlera resonated with the team. Consistent with ECM, it is important to continue to add “cases” to the theory development and extend those theories as supported by the data.

The Research Context

North High School District is a racially and ethnically diverse high school district that serves approximately 4,600 students in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. The district has experienced significant demographic shifts in the past several years from having a majority white population approximately two decades ago to having a current demographic makeup of 42 percent white, 35 percent Asian, 14 percent Hispanic, and 7 percent Black (Illinois At-A-Glance Report Card 2018–2019, n.d.). In 2013, the district took a significant step in hiring the first director of equity and English, and it invested in a variety of equity initiatives in its schools.

Data Sources

Focus Groups and Interviews

The focus group had a total of 22 participants. Three focus group sessions were conducted with teachers and other school staff at each one of the three high school locations in the district. All employees were invited by the researchers to participate in the focus groups. The researchers placed a paper invitation with the time and location of the focus group in their mailboxes and distributed an e-mail with the same information. Participants were asked a series of questions about their experiences with and perceptions about racial equity training facilitated by the district.

The composition of the group was fluid, and participants attended the sessions as they could throughout the designated times. The focus group interview protocol was a semistructured, open-ended format. A standard set of questions was asked as the participants shifted; however, open-ended responses and follow-up questions were asked if other themes emerged during the group. Within each session, the number of participants ranged from one to as many as 10 members at any given point.

The focus group sample consisted of 14 teachers, two counselors, one administrative assistant/paraprofessional, and five administrators. Regarding gender, seven identified as male and 15, as female. Racial identification of the sample was nine white, five African American/Black, four Asian, two Latinx, one Middle Eastern, and one multiracial. Regarding attendance at district diversity trainings, five participants attended none, 13 attended one to two events, three attended three or more, and one did not report the number of events attended. Importantly, this particular school district had five social workers across the three schools in the district, yet no school social workers were directly involved in the DEL team or attended the focus groups despite being invited to participate. All social workers working in this district were white women, which parallels the social work profession as predominately white and has implications discussed later in this article (Salsberg et al., 2017). Only one of the school social workers reported attending district equity professional development opportunities, and this school social worker attended one event that focused on Muslim students.

Ethnographic Observations

The first author attended the DEL team meetings, school diversity events, and community events throughout the data collection phase of three years. Some of the events attended by the researcher were student events as a chaperone and participant; Assyrian, Black, and Latino parent meetings; and community diversity and equity events.

Data Analysis

Focus groups transcripts and field notes were analyzed using the data analysis software NVivo. One of the first steps in the analysis process was to listen to the overall stories from teachers and other school staff. The coinvestigators listened to the recordings and transcribed them. As this process took place, we took notes on our reactions and on the themes that emerged. This strategy of reviewing the data in its entirety is recommended to gain an overall sense of the data (Creswell, 1998). The second approach used was the coding process, a commonly accepted analytic procedure across qualitative methods. We used the coding process to identify categories and themes reflected in the data, and we provided a method for categorizing the data. Three coders were involved; they then met and discussed codes and intercoder agreement to develop the final codebook. These findings were then considered in the context of the nepantlera and social identity frameworks.

Results

The district had taken some significant initial steps toward increasing racial equity in the school by requiring that employees participate in designated professional development around race and racism. The analysis revealed several themes about navigating identity in the school context for participants of color, the identity process of white participants, and the experience of equity work that included a discussion of challenges and impact. The analysis also revealed several ways in which teachers and other school staff served as nepantleras for students and staff of color (without necessarily being aware of the concept), including acting as navigators, bridge builders, advocates, and visionaries. Teachers and other school staff of color and white teachers navigated their social identities in the process of doing this work. Teachers of color were burdened with navigating their own and their students’ social identities, whereas white teachers made choices about when and how they would do the identity work around racial privilege. Themes of resistance were revealed as well and involved the seeming indifference and defensiveness of white teachers and staff.

Superficial Attempts

Several participants noted concerns that the district’s attempt at increasing racial equity was superficial. The perception of superficiality included describing the district as “all talk, no action,” having a “lack of commitment” to changing the culture of the district manifested by the numbers of teachers of color leaving the district, and a “lack of goals” that created challenges to getting others involved and created uncertainty about the goals. There was also a frustration over the “slow progress” and challenges with moving beyond talking about race. That the district’s racial equity and diversity training programs were not mandated for everyone was key evidence of the lack of commitment and superficiality. Two participants noted:

The ones who don’t need it are the ones who attend the training. They’re already allies. I want to know if security can go because they have to interact with all of the same students if not more than we do on any given day … like and if it’s really, really important then all these people should be able to go … to be truly equitable that you realize that some people need more than others.

Meaning Attached to Diversity Shaping Social Identity

There were several examples of what Randolph (2013) referred to as framing some diversity as good and others as bad. For instance, several participants noted how, overall, the teachers and other school staff were positive about Asian students and perceived them as hardworking, yet other students of color, particularly Latinx or Black students, were treated disparately because their culture was viewed negatively. Examples included sending the Black or Latinx students directly to the dean’s office for minor issues or placing them in lower-level, “go nowhere” classes. One participant, acting as a nepantlera, gave this example of disparate treatment and their attempt to raise awareness in their colleague:

I [told another teacher], “You walked by three white students and didn’t say anything. You walked by three black students and told them to break it up and get back to where they’re supposed to be.” He said, “Well they were being loud and obnoxious.” I go, “No they weren’t. They weren’t any louder than the three white kids.”

Teachers and School Staff of Color as Nepantleras

Navigating White Racial Prejudice and Defensiveness

Several of the participants of color (primarily teachers) referenced numerous examples of racial prejudice on the part of their white colleagues as well as examples of white defensiveness, particularly in regard to the expectation that they could benefit from racial equity training. Some examples of participants’ comments reflecting racial prejudice and defensiveness among some white colleagues included: “I do find that a lot of my white colleagues have difficulty talking about race”; “My colleagues aren’t used to working with people of color”; “I’ve already heard backlash like, ‘We have to do this. Don’t we already do this enough?’”; and “The same teachers who are bashing me are also the ones who claim to not see color.”

Teachers of color act as nepantleras by “rebordering” their own social identities and borders they transverse on a daily basis. As Reza-López et al. (2014) stated, this process of rebordering involves a “praxis of constantly transforming/modifying our realities” (p. 109) and doing this with the other, potentially leading to a place of “possibilities or despair” (p. 109). In the preceding examples, many participants of color attempted to engage their white colleagues in these efforts but were often frustrated by the lack of concern, resistance, and the lack of support:

I know she wears lot of hats, but something like we were talking about: Listen to the new teachers of color that are finding their way, maneuvering, hesitant to put themselves out there, hesitant to look weak as well, and, fortunately, we do find within ourselves, within our department, within the school people we can turn to with tenure, with seniority, people we can talk to, but we have to go find them ourselves.

Navigating Student Social Identities

There were several examples of participants acting as nepantleras—serving as guides and advocates for students to help them navigate the in-between space between their culture and others. Participants noted the importance of students seeing themselves in what they read so they can develop a positive social identity and hearing the “voices” and needs of students of color and immigrant students as way to convey the message to those students that they are worthy. Other participants noted that it was white culture that set the tone in the schools both with regard to the curriculum used and the expectations of teachers and staff of color. One teacher stated, “Me and some of the minority teachers feel like we have to fit this image of whatever a white teacher is.”

Several participants of color discussed how they used their own personal experiences with racism to talk to students about racial issues. For example, a Black teacher stated that “a lot of my conversations on race start with an experience that I’ve had. And as long as they know you’re willing to put yourself out there first, they’re more likely to as well.” Another teacher discussed her efforts to reach out to white students to raise their cultural awareness, stating that “one thing I’m trying to do now, especially because our school is so diverse, is showing white students that they have a culture beyond ‘I’m white and I’m privileged.’” Overall, participants reflected how, as people of color, they had to navigate their own experiences with racism while also supporting students of color.

Real-World Impacts on White Participants

Several participants commented on the positive impact of racial equity training with regard to their own level of awareness as well as among their colleagues. Examples include participants who stated that they were more willing to talk about race after completing the training, they were more open “to letting students teach them,” and they were not as “ignorant” as they had been before the training. A particularly noteworthy comment from a white teacher reflected her posttraining recognition of the dangers of teachers not being trained in racial equity; she stated, “I didn’t think I was hurting anybody, but I was very color blind and ignorant.” For some teachers, equity professional development opportunities meant tangible changes in the classroom:

I do want to say though that Beyond Diversity [a two-day seminar focusing on the impact of race on student learning], after I came back from there, I did start having good discussions about race with my kids, and it took a lot of courage on my part, not on theirs. They were very welcoming to talking about it, and it’s been a really great experience for me and maybe for them, too.

Many white participants began attending equity professional development opportunities just to “observe.” However, they noted the process of becoming more race conscious and how that impacted their work:

I walk into my classroom and I am the only white person in my classroom, and I want to believe that I treat everybody equally regardless of what they bring to the table, but a lot of the resistance I got from the students was because I didn’t understand their unique cultural situations, their family dynamics, what their parents valued, and it was a very challenging experience because I didn’t know what to do.

For some white participants, these professional development experiences were often the first time they acknowledged white privilege and, as a response, looked critically at their own practices, which was painful process for them. Even those who described themselves as tentative observers experienced a new level of awareness:

Yeah, so I’ve just kind of been more of an observer, so if there are initiatives at school or something, I’ll attend them just to kind of get a better idea. I went to the white privilege conference, so that kind of reaffirmed some things and also made me once again just educated. I’m more aware of the society that we live in.

A few white participants who had developed race consciousness struggled with how to bring along those who did not support efforts to promote equity and who continued to behave in ways that were oppressive to students. Thus, white participants who developed consciousness of oppression and their white identities also became nepantleras, attempting to be bridges for students of color and other white teachers.

Barriers Faced

Participants cited numerous barriers to the successful implementation of a racial equity training program. Specifically, participants referenced scheduling problems that prevented many teachers and staff from being able to attend. Other participants noted conflicts with other required professional development training requirements. For example, nontenured teachers felt pressure to attend subject-specific professional development over equity training. Another major barrier was teacher resistance. One participant noted, “I’ve tried to talk to colleagues, too, and I’ve run into many brick walls. I’ve run into so many people who don’t care.” Participants struggled with how to support minoritized youths, particularly Black and Latino male youths, who were already discouraged:

I’ve had a really hard time getting male students of color, especially Hispanic and Black boys, to feel worthy enough of … trying hard… . They already come in with this defeatist attitude that they’re going to get a D or an F.

Discussion

This study identified several challenges associated with the effective integration of racial equity training for teachers and other school staff, providing important insights for the effective development and implementation of future racial equity programs. The study contributes to the growing scholarship on borderlands, specifically on how teachers, school social workers, and other school staff can serve as nepantleras by providing guidance and advocacy for students of color and immigrant students; helping them navigate the many challenges of surviving in an academic environment created by white people for white people; and having the courage to challenge institutional structures that do not serve students of color, such as curriculum changes and inequitable disciplinary policies and procedures.

Numerous public schools are facing a range of challenges in the development and implementation of racial equity training despite their positive intentions (Swanson & Welton, 2019). Kinloch and Dixon (2018) noted that knowledge has accumulated in the past two decades about the importance of professional development in the area of educational justice and equity, yet there is still much more work to be done. The results of the present study reflect this assertion, identifying numerous challenges experienced by a racially and ethnically diverse school district in a suburban context.

Some of the challenges noted in the present study relate to a widespread belief that the district’s attempts toward achieving racial equity are relatively superficial and lack overall commitment and clear-cut goals, which participants believed contributed to teacher resistance. Among the noted barriers to the effective implementation and success of racial equity training was scheduling conflicts. The schedules of teachers and other school staff are tight, and department demands and other classroom responsibilities often resulted in a number of teachers and other school staff being unable to attend the racial equity workshops. Another barrier related to the voluntary nature of the racial equity trainings, because it appeared as though the teachers and staff who needed the training the most either did not or could not participate, thus leaving the existing allies as the primary participants.

All of the school social workers at the school were white, and only one of them engaged in the racial equity training and none in the focus groups. Although the reasons for their lack of engagement and participation are unknown, it is possible that they were resistant to the training and engagement, which is a trend noted in the literature. The social work profession is overwhelmingly white (Salsberg et al., 2017), whereas the majority of the clients they serve are people of color (Whitaker, Clark & Weismiller, 2006). Furthermore, white social workers report not feeling prepared to work with diverse clients even after completing an MSW educational program (National Association of Social Workers [NASW], Center for Workforce Studies, 2006).

This need is further highlighted by an NASW study exploring racial attitudes among white social workers, which found that close to 40 percent of the white social workers surveyed possessed racial attitudes that were not conducive to culturally competent practice (Loya, 2012). Negative racial attitudes included believing negative stereotypes about racial and ethnic minorities; believing that if racial and ethnic minorities were struggling, it was likely because they just weren’t working hard enough; or believing there was no longer a need for social justice programs. Again, it is impossible to surmise the reasons why the social workers at the school did not participate, but it is not unreasonable to question whether resistance was an element involved with at least some of the social workers. Thus, it is vital that the profession grapple with the disconnect between the stated goals, ethics, and priorities of the profession with the reality on the ground. It is also vital that white social workers engage in racial equity training beyond their MSW studies.

One of the most important findings of this study relates to the existence of racial prejudice, particularly among white teachers and staff in the district, and what many described as a culture of racism throughout the district. Some of the examples cited were overt references to Black students not being “up to par,” whereas others were more subtle, involving ascribing negative meaning to certain cultures (Black, Latinx) and positive meaning to other cultures (white and Asian). The level of defensiveness among many of the white teachers was also noteworthy and reflected in the resistance of many white teachers and other school staff to participate in any racial equity workshops or their refusal to integrate race into their classrooms and curriculum in any meaningful way. This issue was cited as the primary reason why participants believed the racial equity training should be mandatory for anyone interacting with students.

The impact of racial prejudice and microaggressions were not limited to students. Teachers and other staff of color were affected by a need to navigate their own experiences of racism and their own social identities while supporting students navigating these very same issues. During focus groups, the pain teachers and staff of color experienced and expressed was obvious, such as crying as they spoke about their experiences in the district or expressing their fears that they would experience retaliation if they were honest about their feelings and race-related experiences. Indeed, these teachers expressed what is known as racial battle fatigue, the psychological, emotional, and physical toll of confronting cumulative and ongoing experiences of racism in their professional contexts (Pizarro & Kohli, 2018). As any school district moves forward with equity work, creating systems of support for teachers and other staff of color is critical in this process, particularly if the district wants to effect higher retention rates of teachers and other staff of color. For example, racial affinity spaces can be important for healing and support (Pour-Khorshid, 2018). As Pizarro and Kohli (2018) found, those teachers who survived racially intolerant climates and remained in their schools had communities of support that affirmed and supported them.

A more positive finding in this study was the number of affirmative comments by teachers and other school staff who had taken the racial equity training and had benefited from it, some so significantly that they could cite positive outcomes and impacts on colleagues and their students. These participants also described the many ways they now embraced their new knowledge, using it to act as guides and mentors for their students and faculty of color. These teachers and other staff did not necessarily know they were acting as nepantleras. Their descriptions of their feelings and behaviors toward students, though, reflected many aspects of nepantlera work, including being border crossers operating between two cultures and seeing their students as holistic beings with existing knowledge and value while noting how this shift made them feel vulnerable and exposed.

Kasun (2014) stated that immigrant students are often viewed in educational settings as having deficits and in need of being fixed. On the contrary, immigrant students (as well as students of color) often come into school settings with great strengths and significant existing knowledge from their transnational status—strengths that often go unnoticed by school personnel. González, Moll, and Amanti (2005) noted how immigrant students have significant knowledge accumulated over time, from traveling back and forth over the border, being bilingual, and navigating different cultures. Yet these skills and traits tend to be undervalued by mainstream culture, or what Urrieta (2009) referred to as “whitestream society.” Kasun’s (2014) study found that much of the knowledge immigrant students possessed remained hidden from U.S. educators in large part because of this undervaluing as well as a self-protective measure to guard against increasing racism.

The participants in the present study who benefited from the district’s racial equity training were better equipped to act as nepantleras—with both students and colleagues. A key aspect of nepantlera work is living with the tension of not picking sides. The teachers who advocated for decolonizing the curriculum by including more diversity (that is, integrating examples of contributions made by people of color into the curriculum) experienced significant pushback. Although this experience is quite common (Gutiérrez, 2012) and involves considerable discomfort and frustration (Reza-López et al., 2014), it is also important because it is through the struggle of navigating the tension in the in-between spaces between cultures that change occurs. As Anzaldúa (2002) stated, “This is how reality gets constructed, how knowledge gets produced and how identities get created” (p. 110).

This study provides valuable insights on the significant need for racial equity training in suburban public schools as well as how racial equity training and programs in public schools can be structured to maximize effectiveness. Envisioning teachers, district leaders, and staff as nepantleras and potential nepantleras can influence how racial equity trainings and programs are structured and implemented. Students who benefit from a more culturally inclusive and equitable school climate can use their increased empowerment and voice to also become nepantleras. Using their existing knowledge and cultural capital to benefit other students, they can bridge differences and, as Kasun (2014) stated, serve as bridge builders for other students of color.

School social workers, in particular, are ideally situated to become leaders in creating more racially just and equitable schools given their educational training and professional commitment to all forms of social justice. School social workers are trained in both micro- and macrowork, including policy practice and community development; thus, they are well positioned to be on the front lines of racial equity work, identifying and overcoming challenges to achieving racial equity and social justice on a systemic level. Within the public school system, school social workers can be effective nepantleras to teachers and other school staff as well as to students. School social workers can be involved in the development and implementation of racial equity training programs as well as ensure that schools “walk the walk” by fully expressing their stated commitment to creating a more racially inclusive, sensitive, and equitable environment.

Limitations and Future Research

Studies that explore the perception of students of color and immigrant students of the racial climate in their schools would be helpful to better understand reasons why racial equity training may not be as effective in creating culturally safe spaces as desired. A limitation of this study was the use of only one school district. Although the district was large, because the participants were concentrated in a relatively small geographic region, the generalizability of the results may have been limited. Moreover, this study posed some critical questions about why school social workers in this district were not involved in the equity work when school counselors, administrators, and teacher aides were involved. Was it related to their perceptions of their roles within the schools? Did they experience limitations and constraints because of those roles? Were school social workers involved in day-to-day equity work not represented in this process?

Given the important role that school social workers have in promoting equity, given their professional mandate as well as the skills they possess, future studies focused on equity should specifically address the role of school social workers in this work. These studies should gain increased insights into the level of white school social workers’ awareness of their racial identity to better understand how they are doing this work and what personal and system constraints they may face that may limit their ability to act as or become nepantleras.

Leticia Villarreal Sosa, PhD, is professor, School of Social Work, College of Applied Social Sciences, Dominican University, 7900 W. Division Street, River Forest, IL 60305; e-mail: [email protected]. Michelle Martin, PhD, is assistant professor, Department of Social Work, California State University, Fullerton.

References