Chapter 7: (RE)Searching Whiteness: New Considerations in Studying and Researching whiteness

This chapter explores the challenges of examining White Racial Identity (WRI) in teacher education, particularly in the 21st century and in light of the reelection of President Barack Obama. I argue that research approaches need to be complex, sufficiently developed, and nuanced. The chapter begins with a brief exploration of the literature on WRI to provide a landscape of studies of the topic. From that departure point, I share an overview of a study of Whiteness in education that I conducted with preservice teachers, and then I focus on the challenges and critiques of the WRI model drawing from my research example. Given the literature and the research challenges, the chapter shares what might be the foundation for a different model of understanding WRI. In sharing the commitments and foundation for a new model, the chapter also explores methodological and epistemological considerations that might prove fruitful in the study of WRI and addresses the realities of conducting research that centers on Whiteness in education.