Recentering Knowledge: Teacher Candidates Learning From Disabled Activists and Community Scholars of Color

• In Event: Teacher Preparation, Mentoring, and Community at the Intersections of Identity

Abstract

This study focused on the experiences of eight teacher candidates (current and future teachers) in a community-university project wherein disabled activists, poverty scholars, and community scholars of color were the project instructors. Framed by Disability Critical Race Theory and culturally sustaining pedagogies, we sought to examine if and how teacher candidates’ beliefs and practices shifted over time. Data sources included digital artifacts, focus groups, and interviews. Preliminary findings illuminated how learning from the project instructors was unique and impactful. Moreover, project instructors’ media operated as a gateway to pedagogical change. This study highlights the transformative possibilities when the experiences and perspectives of disabled activists, poverty scholars, and community scholars of color are at the heart of teacher preparation.

Authors

• Amanda L. Miller, Wayne State University
  Presenting Author

• Saili S. Kulkarni, San Jose State University
  Presenting Author

• Emily A. Nusbaum, Mills College
  Presenting Author