This paper examines how whiteness (Harris, 1993) operates as a consumable and normative product within French education, drawing on my experiences as a racialized Core French educator in Ontario, Canada. Grounded in autoethnographic approaches that foreground embodied experience as a site of knowledge production (Ellis, 2004), this study analyzes how dominant ideologies framing “standard” French as neutral, superior, and inherently white reproduce racial hierarchies in both curriculum and classroom practice (Heller, 1999; Kunnas 2024). Building on raciolinguistic scholarship that interrogates how language and race are co‑constructed in educational spaces (Flores & Rosa, 2015), I explore how accent policing, assumptions of linguistic deficiency, and the privileging of Eurocentric cultural markers shape the professional and pedagogical experiences of racialized French educators. Drawing on decoloniality (Mignolo, 2011), Critical Race Theory (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995), and culturally responsive pedagogy (Ladson‑Billings, 1995), the analysis highlights how these dynamics also marginalize the linguistic and cultural contributions of racialized countries within La Francophonie, reinforcing global hierarchies of legitimacy and value. Through critical reflection, I highlight how language becomes a site where racial meaning is produced, negotiated, and resisted, particularly for educators navigating institutional expectations that often conflict with their lived cultural and linguistic identities. This work contributes to broader conversations on equity in language education by revealing how whiteness structures curricular norms, teacher legitimacy, and students’ sense of belonging, while pointing toward more culturally sustaining and justice‑oriented approaches to French teaching (Kunnas et al., 2025).

Authors:
Gurkirat Sidhu, York University, Canada

About the Presenter(s)
Gurkirat Singh Sidhu (he/him) is an educator and advocate for inclusive schooling, pursuing a PhD in Education at York University. His work looks at French education and the racialized experiences of stakeholders.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gurkirat-sidhu-36a5a3124

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