Reading the World Before Reading the Word: A Critical Analysis of Equity in Teacher Education

• In Event: 34.034 - From Vygotsky to Critical Multiculturalism: A Call for Education Equity in San Antonio Schools

Abstract

Objectives or Purpose

Within the context of teaching and learning, critical thinking is often times a concept encouraged, but not always modeled or practiced. What pre-service teachers at varying levels are able to gain through the teaching and learning of multiple perspectives or ways of being can be beneficial to the ways in which they engage with peers, colleagues, and their very own students. In the current teacher education program at a public university in southwest Texas, there is a major emphasis on the ways in which pre-service teachers can serve not only as teachers, but as advocates for their students in critically engaging with the world in order to make positive change. This paper assesses the ways in which the use of transformative teaching paradigms are utilized within the context of a Teacher Education program as a means to promote critical thinking, social justice, and advocacy in teacher education.

Perspectives or Theoretical Framework

The theoretical framework supporting this work is Critical Race Theory. Critical Race Theory (CRT) was developed from critical legal studies and centralizes race as the point of view for researchers (Delgado et al., 2012). CRT in education analyzes the world critically through five tenets: counter-narrative, racism as normal, whiteness as property, interest convergence, and critique of liberalism, (Taylor, Gillborn, and Ladson-Billings, 2009). One tenet analyzes the normalization of racism from the point of view where nothing is neutral, but has been developed and is been perpetuated from the perspective of the dominant discourse. The analysis of interest convergence looks at how different movements or the development of varying polices that appear to aid communities of color, but actually not before the benefit of the dominant society. The critique of liberalism assesses how notions of neutrality, post-raciality aid to the support of the dominant society. This can be observed in discussions where race is made to be seen as something that’s not a contributing factor or in cases where one should view the world through color-blind lens.

Methods and Data Sources

Given the nature of the class and the ultimate goal of the instructor, data was collected from students’ written reflections and those of the teacher-learner. From there, the resources were examined using an open-coding method.

Results and Conclusion

Preliminary results support the utility transformative teaching paradigms within the context of a teacher education classroom based in equity and diversity. As the students and teachers engaged in critical praxis, the import of reading the world, before reading the word was ever present within the language, reflections and discussions shared throughout the class.

Scholarly Significance

It is through transformative teaching paradigms, educators are able to engage in a conscious effort of acknowledging their own bias, considering the ways in which socio-cultural, historical, and political occurrences have affected students, and serving as advocates for their students. This work is important in the grand scheme of teacher education as it supports the need for courses invested in social justice in education.

Author

• Reanna S. Roby, Michigan State University