Exploring the challenges and possibilities of critical literacy pedagogy: K-8 teacher discussions about race in a virtual professional development course

Purpose The purpose of this study is to better understand the ways in which K-8 teachers from a semirural, predominantly white district perceive their responsibilities to work toward anti-racism, as well as to learn more about how the teachers can be supported as they work to overcome the challenges facing teachers in these fraught times in this country’s history. Design/methodology/approach The authors use a reconstructive approach to critical discourse analytic methods (Bartlett, 2012; Hughes, 2018; Luke, 2002, 2004; Martin, 2004) to analyze an online discussion that took place among participants in a virtual anti-racist critical professional development course (Kohli, 2019; Kohli et al., 2015) as they grappled with what it means to confront their own racial identities, positionalities and responsibilities. Findings Three primary tensions emerged in teachers’ discussion: between geographic and professional identities; between individual and institutional responsibility; and between literacy instruction and critical literacy instruction. In all three cases, teachers expressed the difficulties associated with enacting anti-racist critical literacy pedagogy in their school context, while also leaving space for possibility. Practical implications The findings from this study add to the field’s understanding about how teachers in various contexts approach the work of anti-racist critical literacy pedagogy at different stages in their careers and how teacher educators might support them in doing so. Originality/value This study is important in its focus on professional development for in-service teachers, as much of the work has focused on preservice teachers and those who have been in classrooms for varying lengths of time have different levels of experience and different professional needs (Hambacher and Ginn, 2021). It is also notable that these teachers worked in a semirural, predominantly white district, as teachers working in such geographic locations often do not receive education about engaging with diversity (Anthony-Stevens et al., 2017; Anthony-Stevens and Langford, 2020) and it is essential that teachers and students in these districts are engaged if we are going to make headway in challenging whiteness in schools.