The pedagogy of discomfort

 - How can use of VR in learning situations influence student teachers' awareness of racism and promote social justice in pedagogical practices?

This article draws on data gathered through the Critical Examination of Race and Racism in Teacher Education (CERiTE). The CERiTE project (2021-2025) is a research initiative funded by the Research Council of Norway (NFR) and conducted at the University of Inland Norway. The CERiTE project aims to contribute to digital innovative teaching methods by using VR as a tool for learning about race, racism, and social justice.

In a recently published report prepared for the Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Families (Bufdir.) entitled Children and Young People's Experiences with Racism and Discrimination (2023), it is revealed that a significant proportion of children and young people in Norway have been exposed to racism (Proba Research, 2023, p. 1). The report, which draws on an informant base of 30,000 people (Proba Research, 2023, p. 9), shows that children and young people with a minority background experience more discrimination based on ethnic background, skin colour, and religion than their peers in the majority population. This is especially true for those with parents from Africa and the Middle East/North Africa (Proba Research, 2023, p. 1). Several participants also reported experiencing racism within a school context (Proba Research, 2023, p. 2). A majority of the participants call for more training and continuing education for teachers on this topic, clearer procedures for reporting incidents, and an increased focus on dialogue, participation, and collaboration (Proba Research, 2023, p. 2).

Simulations, whether through role-playing, computer games, or VR technology, provide students with the opportunity to practise handling challenging situations in a safe and structured learning environment (cf. McHardy & Allan, 2000; Weissblueth & Linder, 2020, referenced in Linder et al., 2024, pp. 1-2; Amaral & Fregni, 2021; Amri et al., 2020; Friedman et al., 2018; Simanjuntak et al., 2021). VR simulations have the advantage of creating experiences that allow students to confront realistic challenges related to sensitive topics such as racism. In this study the goal has been to better prepare student teachers to handle racism in schools while allowing them to practise in a safe learning context.

This study aims to develop research-based knowledge on how teacher education can contribute to the development of teachers' professional competence necessary to identify and counter racial injustice in Norwegian education and society. The overall research question for this article is:

How can the use of VR in learning situations influence preservice teachers' awareness of racism and promote social justice in pedagogical practices?

In collaboration with the renowned Norwegian production company Fynd Reality, the research team has prepared five VR scenarios/simulations for use in teaching teacher training students. These five VR scenarios are based on real events and narratives. In the simulations, we actively challenge student teachers by placing them in uncomfortable situations involving racism in schools. In all five scenarios, the student teachers assume the role of the teacher who must handle the arising situation. Each scenario lasts between 3-5 minutes.

The scenarios are titled as follows:

1. The Classroom
2. The School Corridor
3. The Teacher's Lounge
4. Parent-Teacher Meeting with the Mother of a Boy Who is Exposed to Racism
5. Parent-Teacher Meeting with the Parents of a Boy Who Uses Racist Language

The purpose of preparing the VR scenarios and allowing student teachers to test them has been to challenge both student teachers and teacher educators to adopt the role of the teacher in challenging situations regarding racism in various school settings. This was accomplished by having 15 student teachers (N=15) and 5 teacher educators (N=5) test the five different VR scenarios. A total of 20 informants (N=20) were interviewed about their experiences following the trials. In this study, we used both semi-structured individual in-depth interviews and semi-structured group interviews with the informants. Before the informants were set to test the VR scenarios, they were only given a brief overview of the various scenarios they were to test. For example: Scenario 1: The Classroom • You enter a classroom where there are two boys. • The boys are arguing. • One of the boys says something racist to the other boy. • How do you handle the situation? After testing the VR scenarios, the informants were asked various types of questions. For example: How did they experience testing the VR simulations? What do they think about using these VR simulations as part of teacher education to prepare student teachers to handle racism in schools? The collected data was transcribed, and we conducted a qualitative thematic analysis of the material using NVivo. Braun and Clarke (2006) argue that: "Thematic analysis involves searching across a data set—be that several interviews or focus groups, or a range of texts—to find repeated patterns of meaning" (p. 86). In this article, we will extract the main findings from the collected data and discuss them in light of pedagogical theory and didactic perspectives.

One evident and main finding in this study is that the majority of the students who tested the various VR scenarios we developed reported feeling discomfort when they had to deal with the situations presented in the virtual reality simulations. Therefore, this article will focus on the use of VR in teaching and the theory of the pedagogy of discomfort (cf. Boler, 1999; Boler & Zembylas, 2003; Zembylas, 2018). The term ‘pedagogy of discomfort’ was first introduced and theorised by Boler in her landmark book Feeling Power (1999). It defines a teaching practice that invites educators and students to engage in critical inquiry regarding values and norms (Boler, 1999, pp. 176-177). The concept was later developed further by Boler and Zembylas (2003) as a pedagogical framework to engage students and teachers with issues of difference, race, and social justice by challenging their emotional comfort zones. Røthing (2019) defines 'discomfort' within this tradition as a wide range of emotions, such as frustration, bewilderment, irritation, and worry (p. 45). Faye (2021) further argues that allowing room for discomfort in a teaching situation means providing space to express emotions and discuss what may be perceived as difficult, claiming that discomfort has the potential to lead to constructive outcomes in the learning situation (pp. 188-189). Our experiences, as well as feedback from the majority of students who participated as informants in this study, indicate that the five VR scenarios are well-suited as digital learning tools/simulations for training on situations where racism can occur in schools. However, the students pointed out that they believe it is important to use the VR scenarios within an overall teaching context, where time is set aside for both an academic introduction to the topic and for debriefing and reflection after the scenarios have been tested.

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