Date of Award

5-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Education and Human Development

Committee Chair/Advisor

Susan Cridland-Hughes

Committee Member

Heather Dunham

Committee Member

Jacquelynn Malloy

Committee Member

Kimberly Manganelli

Abstract

Student outcomes on state and national assessments continue to illustrate wide and growing disparities in educational opportunities for students based on race (Nieto & Bode, 2018). Despite the majority of the K-12 student population being people of color, states across the country are banning curricula and texts that reflect the lived experiences of people of color (Hartocollis & Fawcett; Sachs & Young, 2024; Schwartz, 2021) and stifling attempts to enact antiracist policies that would redress racial inequities (Narea, 2024; Watson, 2024). Given the current sociopolitical backdrop, racial inequality in and from education systems illustrates teachers’ critical role in disrupting inequity and promoting equitable outcomes for all students, especially those who have been historically marginalized (Mills & Ballantyne, 2016). In response to the need for teachers who have the knowledge and skills to recognize and redress issues of race, racial literacy is one skill that teacher educators interested in equity pedagogy have sought to develop with preservice teachers during their teacher preparation program (Rogers & Mosley, 2006; Sealey-Ruiz, 2013; Skerrett, 2011).

The purpose of this study was to understand how preservice teachers developed racial literacy through a year-long book club focused on inclusive young adult literature. To investigate racial literacy development in this context, a participatory design-based approach was used to examine how book clubs facilitated preservice teachers’ racial literacy development. Through the analysis of book club discussions, individual interviews, and co-created documents, findings suggest that preservice teachers’ racial literacy development is community-based, individual, and contextual, as they move between habits of thinking that inhibit and support their development. Key implications include the need to cultivate intentional, trusting communities and to engage with natural entry points for discussing race and racism, such as discussing inclusive young adult literature. Racial literacy became a constant practice for co-researchers, moving beyond the book club context, suggesting the potential for teacher education programs to design contexts that build preservice teachers’ racial literacy as a practice that endures in their classroom practice.

Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0002-8893-3915

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