What's in a Name? "Language, Identity, and Equity" in Teacher Education

• In Event: 21.054 - "Beyond the Methods Fetish" at 25: Preparing Teachers of Emergent Bilinguals

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this presentation is to provide a rationale, highlight assignments and teacher candidate responses from a course, “Language, Identity and Equity” in an elementary teacher education program. This class is an add-on class focusing on culturally and linguistically minoritized students but centering teacher subjectivity/ identity rather than “best practices” with teacher candidates.

Perspective
The rationale for this course is the importance of teacher subjectivity especially when the majority of teacher candidates are White. The significance of teacher subjectivity came as a result of understanding teaching as not simply a set of behaviors with specific and predictable outcomes associated with such behaviors. Rather, teaching is viewed as a complex, social and embodied process involving the relational core created by teacher and student(s) (Alsup, 2006; Britzman; 2003; Edwards & Blake, 2007; Evans, 2002), and the centrality of power, especially when considering the racialized subjectivities of teachers.

Methods
In this presentation, I do not offer an example of a formula or prescription for how “to do” teacher education that centers subjectivity; such an offering would contradict the very values and ways of approaching education we espouse. Rather, I offer my own experiences teaching an elementary teacher education class on culturally and linguistically minoritized students as an example of one way of centering subjectivity in teacher education.

Data Sources
The sources for this presentation are my experiences teaching 10-week “Language, Identity, and Equity course as part of an elementary teacher education masters and credentialing program at a large research institution in the Pacific Northwest, the assignments for this class as well as responses to the assignments from teacher candidates.

Results
Teacher candidates were pushed to re-think both the notion of best practices for culturally and linguistically minoritized students as well as whether particular practices were best for all students, especially through the consequences of their own subjectivities.

Significance
I argue that a focus on culturally and linguistically minoritized students requires teacher educators to engage with the fundamental importance and complexity of teacher subjectivity. I believe that prioritizing “best practices” at the cost of ignoring the centrality of subjectivity in determining what works – how and for whom – in classrooms protects particular subjectivities, their understandings of good teaching, and organizations of power.

Author

• Manka M. Varghese, University of Washington