Tinkering Toward Racial Equity: White Community College Faculty Disrupting and Preserving Their White Innocence

Policymakers, campus leaders, and faculty have increasingly turned to inquiry-based racial equity professional development (IB-REPD) to foster race-related learning and change to address racially unequal student outcomes. This study examines how white community college math faculty participating in a two-year IB-REPD navigated challenges in fully adopting an equity-minded framework and consistently implementing equity-minded practices. Using the concept of “white innocence” as an analytical lens, we analyzed multiple interviews conducted over the course of the IB-REPD and found that most faculty were, at best, tinkering toward racial equity. While participants acknowledged systemic racism and whiteness in education broadly and within math specifically, expressed care for Students of Color, and committed to improving their pedagogical approaches to mitigate racial inequities, they struggled with fundamentally transforming their teaching in equity-minded ways. Instead, they justified their (dis)engagement with racial equity through moves to white innocence that perpetuated the status quo of color-evasive practices. Our findings highlight narratives of two faculty members, Amber and Joe, who exemplified equity-minded learning paired with limited equity-minded change. We conclude with recommendations for supporting white faculty in advancing their racial equity journeys, emphasizing the role of college leaders and IB-REPD designers in empowering and sustaining these efforts.