Supporting Teacher Candidates in Developing Awareness of and Respect for Communities’ Assets and Funds of Knowledge

• In Event: Preparing Educators to Teach for Democracy: Inquiry, Active Learning, Culturally Responsive, Antiracist/Anti-Oppressive, Humanizing Practice

Abstract

1. Objectives or purposes
The purpose of this inquiry was to interrogate and make visible the ways in which an educator preparation program can support teacher candidates to develop awareness of and respect for the assets and funds of knowledge of the communities they serve. Focusing on one course in the program, the study details the different experiences provided to teacher candidates to help them learn about the community in which the university resides as a model for how they can appreciate and learn about the communities in which they teach.

2. Perspective(s) or theoretical framework
This inquiry is grounded in a theoretical framework that sees educators’ awareness of and respect for the strengths, assets, and funds of knowledge of children, families, and communities as a critical support for children’s optimal development and learning. The presenter’s perspective is both as a graduate of as well as a current instructor in the early childhood teacher education program that is the focus of this symposium.

3. Methods, techniques, or modes of inquiry
This presentation is based on a self and faculty group study of a course – Family/Child/School/Community - that the presenter both experienced as a teacher candidate and has subsequently taught for many years in the early childhood teacher education program that this symposium is about. The students enrolled in the program are predominantly women of color who range in age from their 20s to their 60s and reflect the linguistic, cultural, racial, and economic diversity of NYC. The students speak more than 130 languages and come from every continent on the globe. They are immigrants, first generation US born, and often are the first in their families to attend college. This rich diversity reflects the diversity of the young children and families they work with in early childhood classrooms serving our most vulnerable children.

4. Data sources, evidence, objects, or materials
Data sources used to generate findings about this issue include the faculty self-study and the instructor’s reflections about the experiences he provides for teacher candidates, course syllabus and course notes, teacher candidates’ completed course assignments, and teacher candidates’ reflections about the course as detailed in course evaluations.

5. Results and/or substantiated conclusions
Through community trips and visits/interviews with community members, teacher candidates learn about the funds of knowledge and assets of one community as a model for how they can nurture appreciation for and understanding of the assets and funds of knowledge in the communities in which they teach.

6. Scientific or scholarly significance of the study or work
The findings from this research offer valuable insights on how to address the learning needs of early childhood teacher candidates from widely diverse backgrounds to create culturally sustaining and developmentally supportive learning experiences for the children and families they serve.

Author

• Rory M. Scott, City College of New York - CUNY