Personal Growth Versus Parental Action: White Parents' Stories and Struggles of Translating Racial Knowledge to Practice

Background and Purpose: Racial equity-based training often uses the critical consciousness (CC) framework to raise participants’ awareness of oppression and their role within it (Freire, 2020). While CC has been widely applied in various contexts, its use in shaping racial socialization practices among White parents is relatively unexplored. This study addressed this gap by examining how White parents’ participation in a racial equity training program centered explicitly on using CC influenced their racial socialization strategies for their children.

Methods: This qualitative study involved semi-structured interviews with 16 White parents/caregivers who participated in the Racial Equity Consciousness Institute (RECI), a racial equity training program provided by the University of Pittsburgh Center on Race and Social Problems. Participants were recruited based on their involvement in RECI and their role as parents/caregivers to White children. Interviews were conducted via Zoom, recorded, and transcribed. Data analysis followed a grounded theory approach, focusing on thematic saturation (Saunders et al., 2018). This analysis aimed to understand how parents’ experiences in RECI influenced their racial socialization practices.

Results: The findings indicated that while most parental participants praised RECI for being the most effective racial training they had participated in, participation in the institute did not directly impact the racial socialization strategies they chose to implement. According to participants, RECI distinguished itself by offering depth, safety, and racial differences. While these findings are essential for future DEI-related initiatives for adults, parents were more interested in sharing when, how, and why they socialized their children to race instead of sharing where their shared beliefs and values originated. Factors such as the age of the children, the organic nature in which racial issues could be addressed, and the influence of diversity in the family’s environment played significant roles in shaping the racial socialization strategies parents utilized. Participants also highlighted the need for future racialized intervention programs explicitly tailored for White parents that address Whiteness at work, provide practical guidance on confronting racism, and instill empathy and hope in children. These findings suggested that critical consciousness training could be a valuable tool in promoting anti-racist parenting practices among White parents only if the connection is made directly to the participants while they are participating in a specialized intervention designed with caregiving in mind.

Conclusions and Implications: This study underscores the complexity of translating racial knowledge into parental practice among White parents. While participation in racial equity training can enhance individual awareness, especially an effective one that utilizes critical consciousness, bridging the gap between knowledge and parental action appears to require a more tailored approach. Interventions that address the unique challenges faced by White parents in racially socializing their children and suggestions on how to implement such a program were provided. These findings impart valuable insights for the development and evaluation of interventions aimed at promoting anti-racist parenting practices among White families.