Liberatory Race-conscious Mentorship Practices: Collaborating for Change

Area of Science:

• Education
• Sociology
• Psychology

Background:

• Mentorship can mitigate educational disparities by addressing systemic oppression and marginalization.
• Educators can influence teacher candidates by modeling antiracist curricula and fostering egalitarian teaching philosophies.
• Understanding the roots of implicit bias and microaggressions is crucial for equitable education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conceptualize and define 12 mentoring practices within a liberatory race-conscious mentorship (LRCM) framework.
• To provide a structured approach for faculty mentors to address racism at intrapsychic, interpersonal, and institutional levels.
• To support the development of race-conscious, egalitarian, and humanistic teaching practices in future educators.

Main Methods:

• The LRCM framework was developed from eight years of research involving nearly 330 undergraduate students.
• Critical race theory-based mentorship training was delivered to 128 faculty mentors in biomedical fields.
• Mentoring practices were categorized into four liberatory phases: awareness, deconstruction, reconstruction, and praxis.

Main Results:

• Twelve specific LRCM practices were conceptualized, targeting intrapsychic, interpersonal, and institutional levels of antiracism.
• The framework integrates critical race theory to guide mentorship in higher education, particularly in biomedical fields.
• The research provides actionable strategies for faculty to mentor teacher candidates toward antiracist pedagogy.

Conclusions:

• The LRCM framework offers a practical model for dismantling systemic racism in educational settings.
• Implementing LRCM practices can empower educators to foster more equitable and humanistic learning environments.
• This mentorship approach supports the development of critical consciousness and antiracist action among educators and students.