Elementary Preservice Teachers' Visions for Using Diverse Family Literacy Practices to Guide Instruction

• In Event: Preservice Teachers Learning in and About Diverse Families

Abstract

In the public education context that grows more diverse each year, the preparation of preservice teachers to teach children from diverse backgrounds becomes increasingly significant. Examining elementary preservice teachers’ visions for using diverse family literacy practices to guide their classroom instruction, this study’s purpose was to understand how preservice teachers envision using a funds of knowledge (Moll, 2005) approach to engage families. Thirty-four preservice teachers in a U.S. teacher education program completed vision statements and conducted an interview with a family member of one of their students in their internship placement. Findings indicate that all of the preservice teachers viewed families through an asset-based lens, but how they viewed the role of the family varied across the preservice teachers.

Authors

• Jennifer Albro, Johns Hopkins University

• Melissa Landa, University of Maryland

• Michal Ganz Meishar, Levinsky College of Education

• Dolly Eliyahu-Levi, Levinsky College of Education