Unforgetting to Imagine: A Pre-Service Teacher’s Autoethnographic Journey Toward Culturally Responsive Futures

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 11:45 am - Gold 1
  In Roundtable Session: Culturally Responsive Pathways in Preservice Teacher Education: Identity, Global Experiences, and Literature-Based Pedagogy

Abstract

This study examines the intersection of unforgetting histories and imagining futures by exploring the autoethnographic journey of a pre-service teacher developing culturally responsive competencies. Using Critical Race Structuralism and Social Identity Development Theory, this work interrogates how unlearning dominant narratives, reflecting on racial identity, and reckoning with often-erased histories of African American and Indigenous peoples inform the creation of future-facing pedagogies. Data were collected through reflective journals and group discussions, analyzed thematically to reveal how self-examination cultivates race-conscious, justice-oriented teaching practices. Findings illuminate how personal narrative and identity work can disrupt systemic inequities in teacher education and inspire educators to co-construct inclusive and equitable futures for all students.

Authors

• Deneen S. Dixon-Payne, Towson University

• Alyssa Geddie, Towson University

• Marcia J. Watson-Vandiver, Towson University