The Kind of Teacher I Want to Be: Preservice Teachers' Perceptions of Teacher Identity in the Context of Current Educational, Political, and Social Environments

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to better understand how preservice teachers think about and construct a teacher identity, specifically once they begin examining the various educational, political, and social facets that make up our current landscape. Through examining preservice teachers’ student journals and reflections at the end of a two-day introductory course on inclusive education, I sought to understand how teachers begin to conceptualize their prospective teacher identity or more simply put, the kind of teachers they want to be. I used students’ pre-course and post-course reflections which focused on their experiences interacting with major learning theories and social justice theories and how they played a role in their emerging conceptions of their own teacher identities.

Author

• Candice Chiavola, Montclair State University
  Presenting Author