Course:EPSE308/Case Studies/Diversity Equity and Inclusion

Case Study: Elementary Version - Moments of Resistance

Part 1: Preparing for the Classroom

I am a motivated teacher candidate in the Middle Years cohort, ready to support inclusion and diversity! Yet, I don’t feel completely confident engaging with decolonizing and anti-racist possibilities. I have been assigned to teach a grade 7 class and am thinking about how I can use inclusive and diverse teaching resources. I asked for advice from my School Advisor (SA). Given the recent discoveries of unmarked graves at Indian Residential Schools, I wanted to create a lesson so my practicum class could learn more. I was shocked when my SA explained that, “We do not need to bring Indigenous perspectives or anti-racism resources into the classroom because there are no students who are Black, Indigenous, and other People of Colour (BIPOC) in our classroom.” After speaking with my SA, I felt more confused. I didn’t want to challenge my SA. I felt very worried, but I still needed to create my lesson plan. I contacted my Faculty Advisor (FA), who supported opening decolonizing possibilities in the classroom and suggested I talk to my SA again.

Reflection

How might you respond to this situation, given your commitment to inclusion, diversity, and decolonization?
How might you seek out critical allies and mentors to support inclusion, diversity, anti-racism, and decolonizing work?
How might you evaluate authentic resources that are meaningful, respectful, and inclusive for teaching and learning?
What is your responsibility as an educator when it comes to sharing resources and stories in the classroom?

Part 2: In the Classroom

After some conversations and feedback from my SA, I went ahead and created my lesson plan despite feeling nervous! I prepared a Social Studies lesson plan for my grade 7 class. I included First People’s Principles of Learning (FPPL) as outlined in the BC curriculum. The goal of my lesson was to engage in ethical judgements of present and past events, focusing on a critical analysis of the damaging effects and consequences of Indian Residential Schools. A group of non-Indigenous students started making racist and homophobic comments during my lesson. I tried to address and redirect the comments. However, my SA stopped the lesson before it finished and noted that this was the reason they were initially hesitant about my lesson plan.

Reflection

How might you address the racist and homophobic comments made by the group of students?

How might you debrief with the SA while staying true to anti-racist and decolonizing values and knowledges?
How might you plan for the next time you teach the class or lesson?

Part 3: Next Steps

Based on advice from my SA, I decided to email the parents of the students who made racist and homophobic comments over the lunch hour. One of the parents was picking up their child after school. The parent came into my classroom and stated, “There isn’t a problem with racism in our school! You are punishing my child and making them feel like a racist. You are bringing a political agenda into the classroom that is making my child feel unsafe.” They also threatened to withdraw their child from the class for the lessons covering anti-racist and LGBTQ2+ content and make a complaint to the school and district if these materials are not removed. I wasn’t prepared to have this conversation, so I didn’t know what to say! I am worried about the reaction of the school administration and my SA.

Reflection

How might you bring the SA, Faculty Advisor (FA), and principal into this situation?
How would you set the tone, boundaries, and expectations of conduct for interactions when connecting with the parent?
How could this situation be prevented?
How does this scenario reflect how colonial and racist narratives continue to impact education and communities?
How might knowledge about colonialism and systemic racism impact your teaching practice and understanding of education systems?

Part 4: Moving Forward

The next day the Principal called my SA and me into their office to discuss what happened with the students and the parents. The Principal said that they will support me and will help me facilitate a satisfactory resolution. Together we started to brainstorm some different ideas that will help us come together across different perspectives.

Reflection

How would you suggest that the different parties involved move forward together?
What other school, district, and university supports and resources are available to facilitate this process?
What additional supports do you wish were available within these systems?
How might you develop critical allies to support anti-racist or decolonizing approaches?

Case Study: Secondary Version - Moments of Resistance

Part 1: Preparing for the Classroom:

I am a motivated teacher candidate in the secondary program, ready to support inclusion and diversity! Yet, I don’t feel completely confident engaging with decolonizing and anti-racist possibilities. I have been assigned to teach a grade 11 Social Studies class and am thinking about how I can use inclusive and diverse teaching resources. I asked for advice from my School Advisor (SA). Given the recent discoveries of unmarked graves at Indian Residential Schools, I wanted to create a lesson so my practicum class could learn more. I was shocked when my SA explained that, “We do not need to bring Indigenous perspectives or anti-racism resources into the classroom because there are no students who are Black, Indigenous, and other People of Colour (BIPOC) in our classroom.” After speaking with my SA, I felt more confused. I didn’t want to challenge my SA. I felt very worried, but I still needed to create my lesson plan. I contacted my Faculty Advisor (FA), who supported opening decolonizing possibilities in the classroom and suggested I talk to my SA again.

Reflection:

How might you respond to this situation, given your commitment to inclusion, diversity, and decolonization?
How might you seek out critical allies and mentors to support inclusion, diversity, anti-racism, and decolonizing work?
How might you evaluate authentic resources that are meaningful, respectful, and inclusive for teaching and learning?
What is your responsibility as an educator when it comes to sharing resources and stories in the classroom?

Part 2: In the Classroom:

After some conversations and feedback from my SA, I went ahead and created my lesson plan despite feeling nervous! I prepared a Social Studies lesson plan for my grade 11 class. I included First People’s Principles of Learning (FPPL) as outlined in the BC curriculum. The goal of my lesson was to engage in ethical judgements of present and past events, focusing on a critical analysis of the damaging effects and consequences of Indian Residential Schools. A group of non-Indigenous students started making racist and homophobic comments during my lesson. I tried to address and redirect the comments. However, my SA stopped the lesson before it finished and noted that this was the reason they were initially hesitant about my lesson plan.

Reflection:

How might you address the racist and homophobic comments made by the group of students?
How might you debrief with the SA while staying true to anti-racist and decolonizing values and knowledges?
How might you plan for the next time you teach the class or lesson?

Part 3: Next Steps

Based on advice from my SA, I decided to email the parents of the students who made racist and homophobic comments over the lunch hour. One of the parents was picking up their student after school. The parent came into my classroom and stated, “There isn’t a problem with racism in our school! You are punishing my kid and making them feel like a racist. You are bringing a political agenda into the classroom that is making my kid feel unsafe.” They also threatened to withdraw their student from the class for the lessons covering anti-racist and LGBTQ2+ content and make a complaint to the school and district if these materials are not removed. I wasn’t prepared to have this conversation, so I didn’t know what to say! I am worried about the reaction of the school administration and my SA.

Reflection:

How might you bring the SA, Faculty Advisor (FA), and principal into this situation?
How would you set the tone, boundaries, and expectations of conduct for interactions when connecting with the parent?
How could this situation be prevented?
How does this scenario reflect how colonial and racist narratives continue to impact education and communities?
How might knowledge about colonialism and systemic racism impact your teaching practice and understanding of education systems?

Part 4: Moving Forward

The next day the Principal called my SA and me into their office to discuss what happened with the student and the parent. The Principal said that they will support me and will help me facilitate a satisfactory resolution. Together we started to brainstorm some different ideas that will help us come together across different perspectives.

Reflection:

How would you suggest that the different parties involved move forward together?
What other school, district, and university supports and resources are available to facilitate this process?
What additional supports do you wish were available within these systems?
How might you develop critical allies to support anti-racist or decolonizing approaches?

Credit

When re-using this resource, please attribute as follows:

This UBC EPSE 308 Behaviourism Open Case Study was developed by Bathsheba Opini, Lauren Wilkinson, and Nikki Yee and it is licensed under a under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License