{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/124279"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/124279","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"White teachers' responses and needs regarding DEI professional development and work","abstract":"Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2024-09-16 without embargo terms","abstract_html":"Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled &#x27;Open Access&#x27;. The submission was exported from vireo on 2024-09-16 without embargo terms","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Rutledge, Kristin H"],"institution":"University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"Ed.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Hood, Denice Ward","Huang, Wenhao David","Kang, Hyun-Sook","Lee, Sharon"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-05","date_published":"2024-05","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:00Z","subjects":["Diversity And Equity","White Teacher Dei Training","White Teacher Dei Needs"],"languages":["en","eng"],"rights":["Copyright 2024 Kristin Rutledge"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2142/124279","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Hood, Denice Ward","Huang, Wenhao David","Kang, Hyun-Sook","Lee, Sharon"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Rutledge, Kristin H"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2024-05","2024-04-17"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ed.D."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Diversity And Equity","White Teacher Dei Training","White Teacher Dei Needs"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en","eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2024 Kristin Rutledge"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/124279"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2024-09-16 without embargo terms","The student, Kristin Rutledge, accepted the attached license on 2024-04-14 at 14:04.","The student, Kristin Rutledge, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2024-04-14 at 14:06.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2024-04-17 at 14:12.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #20400 on 2024-09-16 at 00:34:16","Due to the fact that most American teachers are White and the diversity of student populations is growing, White teacher training in DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) is essential to meet student needs. In addition, the current divisive political climate has been fighting over DEI concerns, such as White privilege and a historical focus on racism, leaving teachers confused and struggling for guidance in this area. However, there is no universal training for White teachers in DEI. Therefore, researching what White teachers have experienced and need in this area is the first step to providing quality training that will ultimately serve students. To understand teachers’ perspectives and needs in this area, it was necessary to go deeper with qualitative interviews that allowed participants to tell their stories and reveal their honest viewpoints. Interviewing ten teachers from six different suburban districts aimed to glean different district approaches to training. In addition, it was essential to discover how the current political climate was affecting teachers’ diversity trainings and attitudes. These ten teachers revealed a wide array of training experiences ranging from no training to both positive and negative experiences in both required and optional trainings. They also expressed varied needs that mostly focused on how to serve and build relationships with individual students with more support from districts, schools, and communities. Additionally, they emphasized the power of discussions with diverse perspectives in an environment that encourages risk-taking and discomfort without rigid binaries (e.g., right/wrong), resulting in self-discovery and applications to the classroom. They discussed systemic problems, too, that stand in the way of equity objectives. All the teachers ultimately revealed DEI issues in all their schools, even if they did not acknowledge them at first. Therefore, at the minimum, DEI discussions absolutely need to be encouraged and promoted in every school, even if a conservative climate or community does not support them. Teachers need a culture of equity in their schools and training in social justice, not just ways to build relationships with every student. Finally, providing support to White teachers in their specific context is essential to valuing them and helping in the areas they need most."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["White teachers' responses and needs regarding DEI professional development and work"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Hood, Denice Ward","Huang, Wenhao David","Kang, Hyun-Sook","Lee, Sharon"],"dc:creator":["Rutledge, Kristin H"],"dc:date":["2024-05","2024-04-17"],"dc:description":["Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2024-09-16 without embargo terms","The student, Kristin Rutledge, accepted the attached license on 2024-04-14 at 14:04.","The student, Kristin Rutledge, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2024-04-14 at 14:06.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2024-04-17 at 14:12.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #20400 on 2024-09-16 at 00:34:16","Due to the fact that most American teachers are White and the diversity of student populations is growing, White teacher training in DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) is essential to meet student needs. In addition, the current divisive political climate has been fighting over DEI concerns, such as White privilege and a historical focus on racism, leaving teachers confused and struggling for guidance in this area. However, there is no universal training for White teachers in DEI. Therefore, researching what White teachers have experienced and need in this area is the first step to providing quality training that will ultimately serve students. To understand teachers’ perspectives and needs in this area, it was necessary to go deeper with qualitative interviews that allowed participants to tell their stories and reveal their honest viewpoints. Interviewing ten teachers from six different suburban districts aimed to glean different district approaches to training. In addition, it was essential to discover how the current political climate was affecting teachers’ diversity trainings and attitudes. These ten teachers revealed a wide array of training experiences ranging from no training to both positive and negative experiences in both required and optional trainings. They also expressed varied needs that mostly focused on how to serve and build relationships with individual students with more support from districts, schools, and communities. Additionally, they emphasized the power of discussions with diverse perspectives in an environment that encourages risk-taking and discomfort without rigid binaries (e.g., right/wrong), resulting in self-discovery and applications to the classroom. They discussed systemic problems, too, that stand in the way of equity objectives. All the teachers ultimately revealed DEI issues in all their schools, even if they did not acknowledge them at first. Therefore, at the minimum, DEI discussions absolutely need to be encouraged and promoted in every school, even if a conservative climate or community does not support them. Teachers need a culture of equity in their schools and training in social justice, not just ways to build relationships with every student. Finally, providing support to White teachers in their specific context is essential to valuing them and helping in the areas they need most."],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/124279"],"dc:language":["en","eng"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2024 Kristin Rutledge"],"dc:subject":["Diversity And Equity","White Teacher Dei Training","White Teacher Dei Needs"],"dc:title":["White teachers' responses and needs regarding DEI professional development and work"],"dc:type":["text"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ed.D."],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:00Z"}