"It Lived in the Classroom;" Multiracial Teachers, Narrative, and Identity

Abstract

“It Lived in the Classroom:” Multiracial Teachers, Narrative, and Identity engages the narratives of four Multiracial educators with a focus on their educational experiences and how they situate identity in their educational practice. The dissertation has empirical and conceptual elements. The empirical element is based on a series of interviews that were conducted with Multiracial teachers. The conceptual element uses fiction as an analytical lens for the empirical research. The dissertation is organized around the following research questions: What narratives do Multiracial educators construct about their racial identities? How are these constructions represented in their educational practice? How can works of fiction illuminate themes that appear in Multiracial educators’ narratives and professional practice? Critical Mixed Race Studies and Critical Race Theory ground the theoretical framework. The concepts of “rememory” and “marginality/centrality” are central to the conceptual framework. The novels Beloved and The English Patient are the sources of the organizing concepts and the primary analytical lenses for the research findings. The dissertation makes two contributions to the field of education: 1) it develops a body of research about Multiracial teachers’ educational experiences and practices, and 2) it utilizes fiction as an analytical lens for empirical research about teacher identity and practice.