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Racial doubt as a disequilibrium-based pedagogical framework for teaching about race

Design · All designs
Evidence · 2 claims (2 for) · 1 study (1 causal), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description

The article's organizing framework holds that the first step in teaching race-related courses is establishing "racial doubt" that challenges students' preconceived assumptions, stereotypes, and experiences. Drawing on Piaget's "disequilibrium" between current categorical beliefs and new information, the framework holds that doubt opens students to reevaluating assumptions such as that racial categories are distinct, clearly defined, and predictable, and to broader issues like structural inequality. The study operationalizes it through active-learning exercises and measures it as reduced classification confidence.

Design Implications

Context

Requirements

  • Instructors must create course content that challenges stereotypical views from the onset and foster an intellectually safe environment for discussion

Constraints

  • The authors state raising doubt is the beginning, not the end, of greater wisdom, and that their findings provide only limited insights into how 'unlearning' affects future learning in other classes

Target Learners

  • undergraduate students in race and ethnicity courses, including students of privilege and majority who may manifest the most resistance

Learning Goals

  • critical thinking about the social construction of race
  • recognizing structural inequality and racial stereotypes

Claims

Examples

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Key Sources

  • Stephen M. Cherry, Amy Lucas, Kim A. Case, and William T. Hoston. (2014). Who is White? Assessing Students' Perceptions of Whiteness through Active-Learning Effectiveness and the Construction of Racial Doubt. The Journal of Effective Teaching, Vol. 14, No.3, 2014, 68-83. http://www.understandingrace.org/home.html
Page metadata
Field Value
type design
id racial-doubt-pedagogical-framework
title Racial doubt as a disequilibrium-based pedagogical framework for teaching about race
description The article's organizing framework holds that the first step in teaching race-related courses is establishing "racial doubt" that challenges students' preconceived assumptions, stereotypes, and experiences.
status review
generated by process:settle-candidates on 2026-11-02
trust unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources 1 — stephen-m-cherry-2014

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