Developing Anti-Racist Scholars: The R ole of Adult Education Graduate Programs

The purpose of this paper and this roundtable is to explore the role of adult education graduate programs in preparing anti-racist scholars. In dialogue with others, we seek to understand the broad roles that programs have and the specific responsibilities that adult education graduate students, faculty members, and program administrators may undertake toward this end. Introduction A search of the Adult Education Research Conference (AERC) Proceedings from 19932008 revealed that the issue of racism was addressed at every conference held during this period of time. However, none of the papers, symposiums, or roundtables focused on the role of adult education graduate programs in preparing anti-racist scholars. As developing scholars undertaking doctoral studies in adult education, we are on personal journeys to explore our respective positionalities as a White female and Black male and the impact that our positionalities have on our research. As we individually and jointly strive to understand: what constitutes anti-racist scholarship, what it means to be an anti-racist researcher, and how one becomes an anti-racist scholar, we recognize the importance of learning from and with others. We see a role for adult education graduate programs in fostering and supporting such learning. Therefore, the purpose of this paper and this roundtable is to begin a dialogue with other adult education graduate students, faculty members, administrators, and practitioners on the role of adult education graduate programs in developing anti-racist scholars. Anti-Racist Research Anti-racist research assumes that there is institutional racism in mainstream social science research. This is evident in the topics of study; the concepts and methodologies that are privileged; who is allowed, legitimated, and validated to research what and how; and how existing power structures allow for the production and dissemination of certain knowledges (Dei, 2005; Deschler, & Grudens-Schuck, 2000). The purpose of anti-racist research is to further the understanding of how social oppression both constructs and constrains racial identity. Anti-racist research, therefore, must place “the minoritized at the center of analysis by focusing on their lived experience” (Dei, 2005, p. 2). It is not about the researcher becoming situated in another person’s lived experience; rather, it is about the researcher critically engaging her or his own lived experience in the pursuit of new knowledge. It is also about questioning the social structures that oppress people of various races and ethnicities and using the knowledge gained to break down these structures; i.e. to affect social change (Dei, 2005). Preparing Anti-Racist Scholars Racism is difficult to discuss. Issues of power, oppression, and privilege are challenging to explore. “Because ethnicity and especially race are emotion-laden issues; these are difficult matters for scholars to confront honestly, because scholarly reflection cannot force most