W Whiteness and Teacher Education Lilach Marom Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Surrey, BC, Canada Introduction The discourse on diversity in the teaching force in Western countries has a long history and is evoked repeatedly in the face of changing social forces such as globalization and immigration. Many studies have demonstrated the gap between the diversity of the student body and the limited diversity of the teaching force, arguing that in order to answer the needs of the increasingly diverse student population in most Western coun- tries, the teaching force should better reflect the diverse backgrounds, cultures, and languages of the students. In many Western countries, the teaching force is still highly homogenous, com- posed primarily of White, middle-class women who speak English (or the respective national language) as a first language. In order to diversify the teaching force, there is a need for a profound change in the underlying structures of teacher education, which serves as the gatekeeper to the profession. This entry starts with an explanation of the importance of diversity in the teaching force and then draws on the concept of Whiteness and the frame of critical race theory (CRT) to analyze the gap between diversity discourses and practice in teacher education. Finally, it presents components identified by the literature as central to the trans- formation of teacher education. The Importance of Diversifying the Teaching Force Discourses on the importance of diversifying the teaching force have become more pertinent in recent years in response to the increasing diversity of many Western countries. The increase in the racial, linguistic, ethnic, and religious diversity of the population is due in part to global immigration and its direction from non-Western to Western countries. Many immigrants belong to racialized (i.e., non-White) and minoritized groups. The term “minoritized groups” refers to a social group that is disadvantaged in society and has less access to societal resources and positions of power. Using “racialized” or “minoritized” groups, rather than “racial” or “minority” groups, highlights the fact that concepts such as race or minority are socially constructed and not neutral scientific definitions. For example, imagine a package of colorful markers; one could not decide which color is a “minority colour” without first defining a baseline color against which one measures. Defining a baseline color is a choice that would not be inherent to the color itself. The term “minoritized” also hints to the fact that © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019 M. A. Peters (ed.), Encyclopedia of Teacher Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1179-6_199-1