Date Approved
4-18-2025
Graduate Degree Type
Project
Degree Name
Social Innovation (M.A.)
Degree Program
School of Community Leadership & Development
First Advisor
Terry Stockton
Second Advisor
Azfar Hussain
Academic Year
2024/2025
Abstract
Preschool through twelfth grade education in the United States is ever evolving and has always been influenced by socio-political context. Throughout history, the goals, methods, and values of public education have shifted depending on political ideologies and influence. This thesis acknowledges the major significance and impact decisions like these can make on our students in PK-12 schools and on the educators who teach them, while centering the importance of anti-racism as a foundational goal. Despite the anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion political campaign lead by Trump’s second administration to try to dismantle all DEI efforts in PK-12 schools and beyond, this project seeks to explore the creation of an explicitly anti-racist framework for PK-12 teacher education and preservice teacher preparation. Developed through grounded theory methodology and coding processes, a systematic collection of 45 peer-reviewed articles were analyzed for emerging thematic categories. Through this process, five conceptual categories were developed as essential components of anti-racist teacher education: deep self work, quality and authentic curriculum, inclusive pedagogical approaches, and building resilience and criticality as necessary skills. These components formulate the Anti-Racist Teacher Education Framework which provides objectives, in-practice actions, and positive impacts anti-racist education can have on our teachers, students, and our future as a nation.
ScholarWorks Citation
Nemetz, Kel, "Building Anti-Racist Teacher Education" (2025). Culminating Experience Projects. 574.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/gradprojects/574
