News from Members

Call for papers for a panel proposal:
Teaching, whiteness and racism
23nd IMISCOE Annual Conference, 29 June - 2 July 2026, Girona
Organisers: Fanny D’hondt (Gent/Brussels) & Elif Keskiner (Amsterdam),

Standing Committee Education and Social Inequality

Education operates within the logic of white supremacy: a system that normalizes whiteness, elevates white individuals, and systematically disadvantages everyone else (Gillborn, 2005). At the same time, education holds unique potential as a space for resistance, where teachers and students can critically engage with whiteness, confront systemic inequalities, and work toward more inclusive and anti-racist practices.
Teachers play a central role in this dynamic, both in reproducing and resisting the consequences of white supremacy. Yet, particularly in European contexts, we still know little about teachers’ awareness of whiteness, how they challenge ethnoracial inequities and racism, and the ways in which teacher education and professional development can support them in this work.
This panel invites empirical and theoretical contributions that explore how teachers in training and in practice:
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Reproduce or resist racism in classrooms and schools.
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Experience and benefit from whiteness and white privilege.
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Engage with anti-racism and pluralistic approaches in their teaching.
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Are (or are not) supported through teacher education and professional development to confront white supremacy and its consequences.
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Are enabled or constrained by the school policies, school leadership and the institutional structures within which they operate
We very much welcome perspectives from different country and city settings ( global north and south). By bringing together diverse perspectives, the panel seeks to make visible the often-invisible workings of white supremacy in education. In doing so, it aims to interrogate how teachers can move beyond passive reproduction toward active resistance, and what forms of training and structural support are necessary to enable transformative change.

We encourage contributions of papers or preliminary research that engage with the topics of this panel, and kindly ask you to submit by 17 September to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. an abstract of max. 250 words including the title, name(s) of presenter(s), affiliation, and contact details, as well as an indication of whether you will participate in person or online (since the number of hybrid panels is quite limited).
We will get back to you by 20 September, and the panel proposal will be submitted by 25 September.