Examining Positionality, Power, and Privilege: Institutionalizing Caucusing in a Secondary Teacher Education Program

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 29
  In Roundtable Session: Student Learning Across Contexts and Content Areas

Abstract

A secondary teacher education program redesign and implementation effort was studied by a diverse research group consisting of graduate students, instructors, program administrators, research associates, and mentor teachers. The group undertook to gather data to (a) investigate the enactment of the caucusing curriculum, including the experience of teacher candidates and (b) create a platform from which to share our work across the college of education. Findings indicate that dedicating program time and resources to semi-structured conversations on positionality, power, and privilege elevated teacher candidates’ conceptualizations of their identities and complicated their understanding of teaching and learning. Findings also suggest that the planning and research process was impacted by a shared commitment to collaboration and joint problem-solving at the programmatic level.

Authors

• Anne Beitlers, University of Washington - Seattle

• Boris Krichevsky, University of Washington - Seattle

• Renee Shank, University of Washington - Seattle

• Tina Y. Gourd, University of Washington

• Morena Newton, University of Washington