Reflection, Racial Competence, and Critical Pedagogy: How do we prepare pre-service teachers to pose tough questions?

In this article, the author argues that pre-service teachers may need to reflect about race and pursue racial competence as they are prepared to teach in multiracial schools. The question is how do teacher educators prepare pre-service teachers to pose tough questions about issues of race? Several matters are considered in the discussion, such as teacher reflection, race reflection, and some complexities of race in the teaching and learning process. The author concludes the article with an extensive discussion of critical pedagogy. In particular, the author advances two possible teaching methods (critically engaged dialogue, and race reflective journaling) that teacher educators may find useful as they attempt to facilitate reflections on race and assist pre-service teachers in pursuing racial competence through posing tough questions. In the final section, the author shares a chart that he developed and suggests that the chart be used in critically engaged dialogue and race reflective journaling as pre-service teachers pursue racial competence. Finally, the author encourages teacher educators to continue developing instructional methods and tools that allow pre-service teachers to pose tough questions about issues of race.