Envisioning, Exploring, and Enacting Anti-Bias Pedagogies in ELA Teacher Education

• In Event: Global Perspectives on Preparation for Diversity: Enacting Anti-Bias Pedagogies for Transformative Multicultural Education

Abstract

This presentation summarizes a study on the practices of novice English language arts (ELA) teachers who completed a teaching methods course focused on antibias and culturally sustaining pedagogies. The study uses a complexity theory lens to consider how preservice teachers felt enabled to practice these pedagogies, and what challenges they experienced. The study found that alignment with mentor teachers’ values was influential. Another finding was that preservice teachers engaged with these pedagogies in moments that were unscripted and unplanned, and that while the autonomy to create their own curricula was beneficial, that autonomy was not a necessary factor in preservice teachers’ engagement with these pedagogies. Implications for teacher educators interested in promoting an antibias approach will be discussed.

Author

• Jennifer Ervin, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire