Archetypes and corrective representations: Navigating neoliberal multiculturalism as aspiring Mexican-American teachers

Abstract

This paper utilizes the framework of neoliberal multiculturalism–a racialized political project that amplifies diversity and inclusion, while maintaining values of meritocracy and white supremacy that individualize and racialize educational inequity–to describe the complexities inherent in three Mexican-American male-identifying teachers’ experiences and developing philosophies. Findings demonstrate the importance of the positive male role model in the early educational experiences of participants, figures inspiring their decisions to teach. However, neoliberal multicultural constructs—such as the positive role model-as-corrective representation—present in institutional dynamics and colleague microaggressions (re)oriented how participants understood themselves and their work.