Learning to Teach for Social Justice: Bilingual Teacher Candidates' Contribution to the Conversation

• In Event: 16.060 - Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: 16.060-18 - Bilingual Teachers: Preparation and Perspectives

Abstract

This paper explores the development of linguistically and culturally diverse pre-service teachers who were enrolled in a teacher preparation program focused on social justice and educational equity, especially for multilingual students. Focus group data collected over the 2015-2016 school year, pointed to identity, respect, authenticity, and caring relationships as vital in reaching our goal of helping teacher candidates teach for social justice. In addition, recognizing and building upon the teacher candidate's strengths was a key component of the process at a theoretical, conceptual, and practical application level. The stories and narratives that emerged from these teacher candidates are compelling and reveal the nuanced cultural, linguistic, social and academic understanding they gained about their students, and how that influenced their instruction

Authors

• Esperanza De La Vega, Portland State University

• Carrie Larson, Portland State Univeristy