Go with Me on this Journey: The Figured World of Equity-Oriented White Women Educators

Abstract

My qualitative dissertation examined how white women who identify as equityoriented educators understand, discuss, and carry out their roles as teachers and teacher leaders while challenging oppression and marginalization in their educational settings. My research specifically focused on the experiences of two white women who worked as district equity leaders and identify as antiracist and anti-oppressive teachers. Drawing on the concepts of figured worlds from sociocultural identity theory and CWS, I collected and analyzed data from semi-structured interviews and a process of stimulated recall in which participants reflect on their actions in teaching and facilitating antiracist professional learning. This approach allowed me to examine how these participants shape their identities and how they intentionally confront their whiteness and address inequitable, oppressive, and racist systems, language, policies, and practices that support white supremacy.