Illuminating Discourses of Disruption: Teacher Candidates’ Personal Writing Experiences as Potentially Subversive

• In Event: Sunday Roundtable Session 3:05 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Taking Up Social Justice in Preservice Teacher Education (Table 34)

Abstract

Writing in schools is often defined narrowly, marginalizing linguistically, culturally, and racially diverse students. Teacher education programs must prepare teachers to disrupt narrow definitions. This study aimed to illuminate the discourses of writing that teacher candidates might draw upon to disrupt narrow school writing traditions. Data were memories of writing from 112 TCs at five universities. Analysis indicated the prominence of four disruptive discourses: experiencing agency, expressing self, making connections, and processing emotions. Drawing on feminist scholars and critical expressionists, we argue these personal writing experiences are potentially subversive and may serve as a bridge to other forms of sociopolitical writing.

Authors

• Sonia Melanie Kline, Illinois State University

• Amy Leigh Tondreau, University of Maryland - Baltimore County

• Amanda Wall, Georgia Southern University

• Shuling Yang, University of Maryland - Baltimore County

• Chinwe H. Ikpeze, Saint John Fisher College

• Grace Yun Kang, Illinois State University

• Kelly N. Tracy, Western Carolina University

• Xiufang Chen, Rowan University

• Linda D. Smetana, California State University - East Bay

• Roya Q. Scales, Western Carolina University