Unpacking Emotional Configurations of Whiteness in Science Teacher Education: A Response to McCausland

ABSTRACT In this response to Jonathan McCausland's “Emotional Configurations of White Shame and White Ambivalence for White Interns in a Secondary Science Teaching Program,” as part of the special issue on Centering Affect and Emotion Toward Justice and Dignity in Science Education, we reflect on the complexities of Whiteness, emotion, and antiracist teaching in science education. Building on McCausland's analysis, we examine how configurations such as white fragility, superiority, apathy, and exceptionalism operate alongside shame and ambivalence to maintain racial comfort and protect Whiteness in classroom spaces. Drawing from our experiences as scholars of Whiteness and former K–12 educators, we reflect on the challenges of facilitating antiracist learning with White interns, particularly within Teacher Education Programs (TEPs) that remain embedded in structures of Whiteness. We briefly reflect on the tension between the justice‐oriented aims of teacher preparation and the challenges of securing aligned field placements, particularly within a broader context of increasing political scrutiny of public education. In doing so, we point to the need for continued institutional reflection on how Whiteness operates across both coursework and clinical experiences in science education.