Building Racial Justice Into a Master's Program: Lessons From a Five-Year Equity-Mindedness Initiative

Institution Of Higher Education Program Context

This chapter offers an examination of the challenges and opportunities associated with redesigning a program centered around an explicit commitment to equity-mindedness. In this case, we describe a language teacher education professional master’s program engaged in a five-year process to shift its practices and culture in ways that cultivate racial justice and equity-minded practices in its graduates. In particular, what are the significant factors that must be addressed to build racial justice into a professional master’s program? We will argue that critical race, and equity-mindedness offer useful and necessary frameworks to redress normative assumptions which too often undermine efforts to advance racial justice in academic programs.

To contextualize the case explored in this chapter, we begin with a discussion of the key demographics and institutional qualities which shape the project. The role of race, class, and identity are central to this case and the organization’s work toward educational equity and language acquisition. While the majority of the student body and half of the faculty within the professional school at the center of this analysis are non-white, the university demographics differ as a Private White Institution (PWI). While the university publicly embraces diversity and inclusion, the need to confront ideologies, practices, and policies that have been historically centered around whiteness (Morales, et. al., 2021). The school’s mission is to prepare leaders to achieve educational equity. This equity-focused mission was established in 2017 and continues to inform the redesign of the academic program in the school. To understand the tension and complexity of fulfilling that mission, it is necessary to further explore the specific university demographics and how the vision for their work is articulated.