From Tension to Reimagination: Preservice Teachers Analyze Diverse Children’s Literature in a Shifting Educational Climate

• In Event: Selecting and Teaching with Diverse Books in Challenging Times: Learning from Research with Pre-Service Teachers, Teachers, and Teacher Educators

Abstract

In an educational climate where many states and the federal government seek to silence pedagogies that value cultural and linguistic diversity (Schwartz, 2025), teacher preparation programs must support preservice teachers (PSTs) in critically engaging with culturally responsive/sustaining literature (Ladson-Billings et al., 2024). This study explores how two teacher educators, amid shifting policy, guided elementary PSTs to analyze diverse texts using Sims Bishop’s (1990) mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors metaphor and Short’s (2019) emphasis on authenticity and representation in text selection. PSTs responded with nuanced insights into diverse texts and their use in classrooms, demonstrating the power of scaffolded textual analysis and reflection to prepare educators to simultaneously navigate and reimagine today’s educational environment.

Authors

• Jennifer Anne McCreight, Kent State University

• Abbey Galeza, Kent State University