Preservice Teachers' Perceptions of Professional Agency Following a Graduate Course on Research, Inquiry, and Advocacy

• In Event: Disrupting Uncritical Coursework Practices: Learning for Teacher Agency, Efficacy, and Justice

Abstract

Preparing pre-service teachers to enact professional agency is both critical and challenging, given how often school district mandates and assessment practices are in conflict with what these candidates have come to believe about teaching and learning. Though the literature on pre-service teachers and the development of agency is growing, the number of studies looking specifically at coursework and agency is limited. In this study, we explore pre-service teachers’ perceptions of agency before and after completing a graduate course designed to support the enactment of agency via research, inquiry, and advocacy. We found that the majority of candidates had a stronger sense of agency at the conclusion of the course, and that school context was often a factor in their perceptions.

Authors

• Megin Charner-Laird, Salem State University

• Leslie Duhaylongsod, Salem State University

• Francesca Kazan Pomerantz, Salem State University