Oral History, Counternarratives, and Preservice Teachers Making Sense of School Desegregation

• In Event: 61.086 - Roundtable Session 21
  In Roundtable Session: 61.086-5 - Roundtable 1

Abstract

This study investigates how pre-service teachers in Virginia make sense of school desegregation, looking into the ways in which they craft their narratives and challenges that they encounter in doing so. One case that was bounded by one academic semester and elementary social studies methods course in the public research institution in Virginia was selected. The study consisted of three units of analysis based on the three separate assignments. Data was analyzed given Hess’ (2005) five perspectives on Brown as initial categories. Despite the varying degrees, pre-service teachers considered Brown as an icon of democratic achievement and predominantly used their interviewees’ stories as evidence in creating their narratives. They also found it challenging synthesizing all the information from multiple sources.

Authors

• Yonghee Suh, Old Dominion University

• Wendy Scott, Old Dominion University