Expectations of Expertise: A Poststructural Exploration of Becoming Teachers of Students With Disabilities

• In Event: Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: New Directions in Postfoundational Theorizing

Abstract

In this study, we draw on poststructural understandings of identity to explore how preservice students develop identities as teachers of students with disabilities. Foucault’s concepts of technologies of power and self provide a lens through which we analyze the subject positions that preservice teachers negotiate. Data include focus groups, application essays, and class assignments, and open coding was used to identify themes related to identity, positioning, and power. Findings show multiple ways that preservice teachers felt positioned—by students, cooperating teachers, and school systems, and offer content specialist as the only positive subject position. Implications for special education teacher preparation highlight the need for preservice teachers of students with disabilities to be supported in developing professional identities in complex spaces.

Authors

• Rachel Roegman, Purdue University

• Suzanne Pratt, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Sabrina Sanchez, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Crystal Chen, Teachers College, Columbia University