Racialized Change or Nominal Absorption? Racial Equity Discourses in District-wide Professional Development

Abstract

This case study examines how racial equity was constructed within a district-wide professional development program. Drawing on two years of observations, interviews, and artifacts of the Equity Mentoring and Coaching (EMC) Program, it examines (a) the available equity discourses, (b) their inter- and intra-organizational influences, and (c) their incorporation. Using a racialized ecological organizational lens, I detail four prevalent discourses: social transformation, antibias, diversity, and best practice; and their influences from EMC program positioning and partnerships. While all discourses used race-explicit language, I found that the nominal absorption of social transformational discourse into more technocratic conceptualizations hindered substantive racialized change.

Keywords

equity racial discourses racialized change work racialized organizations professional development

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