Indigenous Teacher Candidates: Their Struggles, Successes, and Goals for the Future

• In Event: 47.095 - MTCC Roundtable Session 19
  In Roundtable Session: 47.095-5 - Transforming Culturally Relevant Pedagogies During Field Experiences for Preservice Teachers

Abstract

This presentation focuses on the experiences of members of a rural, Indigenous Pueblo as they work to earn degrees and teaching licenses from an urban university 250 miles away. Presenters share the findings of a qualitative study of interviews of nine Pueblo members, along with their own written narratives, focusing on the support systems that assisted them in their success, and the challenges they encountered. The themes that have emerged included family, both as support systems and as roadblocks; positive and negative perceptions of their working toward college degrees; and their focus on the importance of providing a quality education for all the children in Pueblo to ensure their success in the future.

Authors

• Marjori M. Krebs, University of New Mexico

• Cheryl A. Torrez, University of New Mexico