Critical Race Theory, Teacher Education, and Diversity

Because of the rapid diversification of student populations, coupled with continuing inequities in how well schools serve students of color, immigrant students, and students from low-income backgrounds, teacher education programs have increasingly worked to prepare teachers to teach diverse students well. Critical race theory, while having the potential to guide these efforts, also sheds light on the superficiality of many of them. After briefly describing the main tenets of critical race theory that are used in teacher education, this entry examines its application to two main areas: teacher education curricula, and analysis of policies and practices that structure racism into teacher education.