Harboring as a Framework for Cultivating Care Among Teacher Candidates in Virtual Spaces

• In Event: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Troubled Times

Abstract

Teacher candidates often experience emotional turbulence during their learning-to-teach journeys, and COVID-19 pandemic conditions tended to exacerbate their stress and intensify their emotions. These unprecedented challenges led us to consider how we might harbor, or provide refuge, across various dimensions of our teacher preparation program in a virtual environment. This qualitative research self-study examines the metaphor and possibilities for harboring in teacher education, inspired by a shared reading of Woodson’s Harbor Me. Inductive content analysis of data collected from ten teacher candidates who student taught fully online revealed that participants harbored one another, their mentor teachers, and their students in both personal and practical ways. Implications for embracing a harboring culture of care within teacher preparation programs are discussed.

Authors

• Carrie J. Birmingham, Pepperdine University

• Carrie R Wall, Pepperdine University

• Elizabeth Yomantas, Pepperdine University