Antiracist Pedagogy in Washington State’s K-12 Classrooms: The Practice and Challenges

Abstract

This research study asks K-12 educators in Washington State how they practice antiracism in their classrooms, what challenges they face when doing so, and whether they feel supported by their administration, district, peers, families/parents, and their students to practice antiracism. A review of critical race theory in education and multicultural teacher education literature is conducted to better understand common antiracist classroom practices and challenges and is compared to the responses of the 52 K-12 educators from Washington State who responded to the survey. The data revealed that a majority of respondents feel supported to practice antiracism but also identify important challenges they face like student, family/parents, and peer resistance as well as a desire for an antiracist community to collaborate with and for more resources to teach race critically. This study informs areas for future research as well as recommends how Washington State’s governing bodies and educational organizations that serve teacher constituents can support antiracist teachers through resource allocation and mentorship.