Teaching as Resistance

This talk shares the findings of a doctoral study that examines the lived experiences of racialized teacher candidates in an Ontario teacher education program, shedding light on how systemic and interpersonal barriers shape their educational trajectories. Despite ongoing efforts to diversify the teaching workforce, racialized educators remain underrepresented, reflecting persistent structural challenges within Ontario’s centralized, neoliberal education system (Shah et al., 2022).

Guided by Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Yosso’s Community Cultural Wealth (CCW), the study shifts the focus from deficits to strengths, highlighting the resilience, resources, and cultural wealth that racialized teacher candidates bring to teacher education. Using narrative inquiry, the study examines 21 interviews with seven participants, uncovering recurring themes that show how these future educators navigate personal, social, and institutional challenges while drawing on aspirational, familial, social, navigational, linguistic, and resistant forms of cultural wealth.

The findings offer both theoretical and practical insights for teacher education, emphasizing the importance of moving beyond symbolic diversity initiatives toward systemic, anti-racist reforms. By centering the voices and strengths of racialized teacher candidates, this research demonstrates how teacher education programs can better recognize, honor, and leverage the rich cultural knowledge these future educators contribute to classrooms and communities.