Silence speaks: whiteness revealed in the absence of voice

Mazzei, Lisa A. (2008) Silence speaks: whiteness revealed in the absence of voice. Teaching and teacher education, 24 (5). pp. 1125-1136. ISSN 0742-051X

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Abstract

In this hybrid article, the author attempts to weave together the theoretical implications of whiteness theory and a theorizing of silence on teacher education practices, research with her own students that explored these implications, and reflections on her own pedagogical practices and location as a white teacher educator teaching about race and diversity. In teacher education courses intended to explore issues regarding the implications of diversity in schools, silence is often encountered in work with white students who have not examined their identity in the context of a racial discourse. This article explores the nature and intent of these racially inhabited silences that emerged in two teacher education courses comprised predominately of white preservice teachers.