Too White to teach race: Student perceptions of racial identity -based professor credibility, a case of pedagogical malpractice?

Nowhere is the challenge by students against a professor's credibility more an issue than in the race-related classroom, where the politics of racial identity cannot be denied. This dissertation examines students' perceptions of the racial identity-based credibility of college professors who teach race-related courses. Four questions will be addressed: What characteristics do students believe make a professor credible to teach race-related courses? What do students believe to be the relationship between professors' racial identities and their credibility to teach race-related courses? Do students' own racial identities (shared with or different from those of their professors) influence their perceptions of professor credibility to teach race-related courses? Do students believe that a professor's race influences his/her ability to present an unbiased account of racial minorities and racial prejudice in the United States? Data collected from college students' interviews and focus groups were used to qualitatively analyze and describe how students weigh both disciplinary expertise and racial affiliation in relation to professor credibility. This study explores the connections between the lived experience that students perceive is necessary to credibly teach about race and both their own and their professors' racial identities. Discussed are students' definitions of the mutually exclusive levels of understanding of racial oppression, the empowering connections between students of color and their professors of color, the disconnection between students of all races and their White professors in race-related classes, and students' beliefs about pigeonholing professors of color into teaching minority issues. The research illustrates that although students believe their White professors have the academic background and often the ability and charisma to teach race-related classes, alone, they are unable to offer the personal lived experience which student believe is necessary to raise their teaching credibility. This study raises important questions about the ability of White instructors to teach courses on racial inequality and oppression, and offers a detailed plan for collaborative teaching and recommendations for a shift of the knowledge base in the race-related classroom.