John P. Broome, associate professor in the College of Education, co-presented, “White-ish: An Investigation of the Educational Resources of the National Women’s History Museum,” with Dr. Lauren Colley (University of Alabama) at the College and University Faculty Assembly of the National Council for the Social Studies 2018 National Conference in Chicago, IL. This work explores the teaching materials provided by the national museum and coded for the representation of diverse women through the tenets of Critical Race Theory, White Social Studies, and Intersectional Feminism. Findings included patterns of inherent whitenss in their materials; consistent with research on marginalized women in curriculum and textbook studies. Using Gay’s (2018) culturally responsive teaching, and the “symbolic curriculum”, we provide insights and examples for the inclusion voices of diverse women through primary sources in K-12 classrooms.
Dr. Broome also served as “Discussant” for the session entitled, “Social Studies Education and Race, Part II: Critical Conversations in Teacher Education”. His talk, “Considering Trauma: Race/ism, Critical Theory, and Social Studies Teacher Education”, synthesized the four papers presented, and provided considerations into how teacher educators: 1) develop and execute critical race-based activities, 2) prepare future teachers to discuss race beyond colleges of education, and, 3) consider the limitations of theory and publications when capturing the process.
Dr. Broome’s research interests focus on the intersection of social studies and race/ism, equity, and whiteness. He earned his B.A. in Government from The College of William & Mary, a M.Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction (Secondary Social Studies) from George Mason University, and a Ph.D. in Education (Social Studies Education) from the Curry School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia. Before joining UMW, Dr. Broome taught secondary social studies in public and private schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia.