Expanding Faculty Members’ Zone of Proximal Development to Enact Collective Agency for Racial Equity in Faculty Hiring

Abstract

This study examined how a professional development initiative on racial equity facilitated the expansion of faculty members’ agency to use a critical race-consciousness lens to disrupt White supremacy in faculty hiring policy and practice. I analyzed interview data from faculty members who participated in a 10-month professional development training. Findings reveal how language, tools, and peer-to-peer interactions mediated learning through agency to disrupt White supremacy in faculty hiring. The findings illustrated the significance of professional development focusing on structural and institutional racism within the context of White supremacy.