When Claiming to Teach for Social Justice is Not Enough - Majoritarian Stories of Race, Difference, and Meritocracy

Oct 15, 2026

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To understand how dominant messages about race and effective pedagogy shape teacher beliefs and practice, the study uses critical race theory (CRT) in a case study of Rebecca Rosenberg, a mid-career teacher who was terminated before completing her district’s probationary period. Though she believed she taught for social justice, received social-justice-oriented preparation, and entered a school with a similar mission, her practices reflected uncritical acceptance of the status quo. The findings highlight the need to prepare teachers to recognize cultural myths and majoritarian stories guiding their work.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages27

Reading Time1 h 8 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background and framing

Case study context and findings

Implications for teacher preparation

UC Berkeley Berkeley Review of Education Title When Claiming to Teach for Social Justice is Not Enough: Majoritarian Stories of Race, Difference, and Meritocracy Permalink [https://escholarship.org/uc/item/06c0m9nz](https://escholarship.org/uc/item/06c0m9nz) Journal Berkeley Review of Education, 4(1) ISSN 1947-5578 Authors Viesca, Kara Mitchell Torres, Aubrey Scheopner Barnatt, Joan et al. Publication Date 2013-01-01 Supplemental Material [https://escholarship.org/uc/item/06c0m9nz\#supplemental](https://escholarship.org/uc/item/06c0m9nz#supplemental) Peer reviewed [eScholarship.org](eScholarship.org) Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Available online at [http://escholarship.org/uc/ucbgse_bre](http://escholarship.org/uc/ucbgse_bre) When Claiming to Teach for Social Justice is Not Enough: Majoritarian Stories of Race, Difference, and Meritocracy Kara Mitchell Viesca,a1 Aubrey Scheopner Torres,b Joan Barnatt,c and Peter Piazzad a University of Colorado Denver b Education Development Center, Inc. c Elon University dBoston College Abstract To understand how dominant messages about race and effective pedagogy impact teacher beliefs and practice, this study employs critical race theory (CRT) in a case study analysis of Rebecca Rosenberg, a mid-career entrant into the teaching profession who was terminated from her first job before the end of her district’s probationary period. Despite believing she was teaching for social justice, being prepared in a program oriented toward social justice, and being hired in a school with a comparable mission, Rebecca’s beliefs and practices affirmed uncritical perspectives of the status quo regarding race, schooling, and social ascendance. This research underscores the substantial work to be done in preparing teachers to be reflective of the overarching cultural myths and majoritarian stories that may guide their practice. Keywords: Social Justice and Equity; Critical Race Theory Hytten and Bettez (2011) argue that as an abstract idea, it is difficult to be against social justice since “After all, we learn to pledge allegiance to a country that supposedly stands for ‘liberty and justice for all’”(p. 8) . Despite this general consensus around goals of social justice, many have asserted that the notion of social justice and its pedagogical operationalization are not always consistently defined across varying contexts (Kapustka, Howell, Clayton, & Thomas, 2009; Zeichner, 2006) and can “relate to a range of different practices and beliefs”(Agarwal, Epstein, Oppenheim, Oyler, & Sonu, 2010, p. 238) . Infact, according to Zeichner (2006),“It is difficult to find any teacher education program in the country that doesn’t claim to be doing teacher education for social justice. The difficulty is whether or not they are actually doing it”(p. 193) . Many teachers and teacher educators can claim to be teaching for social justice despite participating in cultural and linguistic practices that perpetuate inequitable outcomes based on race, class, gender, language, religion, sexual orientation, and ability. Juárez, Smith, and Hayes (2008) highlight a major issue in teacher education for social justice: its whiteness. They argue: 1 Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Dr. Kara Mitchell Viesca, P.O. Box 173364, Campus Box 106, Denver, [CO 80217-3364. Email: Kara.Viesca@ucdenver.edu](CO 80217-3364. Email: Kara.Viesca@ucdenver.edu). Berkeley Review of Education Vol. 4 No. 1, pp. 97-122 98 Viesca et al. First and foremost, teacher education for diversity and social justice is a teacher education that is just for White people. Teacher education is a White work. The overwhelming majority of teachers, future teachers, and teacher educators are White (Gordon, 2005) . Likewise, the preparation of teachers most often takes place in historically White institutions. The whiteness of teacher educatio

FAQs

How does the study examine the impact of messages about race on teaching practice?

Using critical race theory in a case study analysis, it connects dominant narratives about race and effective pedagogy to teachers’ beliefs and practices.

What was the case study’s main outcome regarding the teacher’s belief in social justice?

Despite believing she taught for social justice and being prepared for it, the teacher’s beliefs and practices affirmed uncritical perspectives that upheld the status quo.

What does the research suggest about preparing teachers for social justice?

Teacher preparation must help educators become reflective of overarching cultural myths and majoritarian stories that can steer their practice.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Ben