Preservice Teachers’ Problem Identification and Solution Strategies in Culturally Responsive Sustaining Contexts

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 2:15 pm - Gold 1
  In Roundtable Session: Navigating Practicum in Preservice Education: Ethics, Partnerships, and Culturally Responsive Problem-Solving

Abstract

This mixed-methods exploratory sequential design examined how preservice teachers (PSTs) (N = 26) enrolled in diversity and literacy methods courses identify problems and propose solutions in Case-Based Instruction (CBI). Drawing on CBI, the study explored participants' background characteristics (e.g., age, race, and language) and their overall self-efficacy in culturally responsive, sustaining pedagogy (CRSP). The cases focused on language and multilingual families. Quantitative results showed no statistically significant differences in demographics based on CRSP self-efficacy. However, qualitative analysis revealed that older bilingual participants demonstrated higher competencies across dimensions—agency and integration, cultures, and multidimensional strategy use, suggesting that age and language status may influence PSTs' ability to identify problems and propose solutions in real-world contexts.

Authors

• Uwakmfon Goodness Folorunso, Washington State University

• Yuliya Ardasheva, Washington State University - Tri Cities

• Shenghai Dai, Washington State University