Abstract:
Few teachers would question that teaching is a contextual and situational process,
yet as Gay (2000) reminds us, too few teachers have sufficient knowledge of how
teaching practices reflect dominant cultural values. This qualitative study explored
whiteness in the EFL classroom and the relation between teacher identity and pedagogy.
This research was shaped by the overarching research questions: How does being white
influence teachers' educational practices? How can teachers successfully negotiate crosscultural
teaching?
Data included open-ended interviews, a content analysis of EFL training
materials, and my research and personal journals. The experiences of five EFL teachers
form the central focus of this study. My personal story, as a white EFL teacher, is also
included throughout this thesis.
This study offers a detailed description of the complex and dynamic ways in
which these five teachers understood their racial identities, and the classroom decisions
they made in response to their understandings. Included in the discussion are the
strategies that my participants and I used to subtly resist the notion and exploration of
racial privilege. Implications for teacher education programs and possible directions for
further study are offered.
