Critical Voice on Teacher Education Literature: Foregrounding Heterogeneity

• In Event: Toward a Complex Understanding: Disrupting Essentialization in Teaching and Teacher Education

Abstract

This paper builds on and discusses the growing body of research on experiences of racialized teacher candidates. The objective of this paper is to advocate the importance of differentiating in research and also teacher education programming among groups of racialized pre-service teachers. A review of the existing research literature reveals (i.e., Basit et al., 2006; Wilkins & Lall, 2011; Burnette, 2016) that most studies are often characterized by the assumption that teachers of color exist as one or several homogenous racialized groups, and offer generalizable findings on teacher education practices and structures in an effort to transform the profession. The paper argues that the lived experiences of racialized people are much more diverse and complex than is commonly imagined.

Author

• Hassina Alizai, Queen's University - Kingston