Noticing Bias in the Coursework of Preservice Teachers and Planning for the Future

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 7
  In Roundtable Session: Thinking Critically About Teacher Education: Personal, Local, and Global Perspectives on Practices

Abstract

As teacher educators supporting the development of future PreK-2 teachers, we strive to foster equity and disrupt biases that may negatively impact children. This project utilizes an action research framework to analyze 31 teacher candidates' descriptions of children in their pre-practicum classrooms to identify biases about children and families. Analysis of the classroom descriptions revealed that some students showed a clear bias for a “mythical norm” (Lorde, 1980, p. 2) consisting of two-parent, English-speaking, white, Christian families, as well as racial stereotyping and biases against two-parent working families or working single mothers. Implications for teacher educators include addressing the concept of the “mythical norm” and designing learning modules about how biases impact perception of children and their social emotional development.

Authors

• Megan Schumaker-Murphy, Salem State University

• Francesca Kazan Pomerantz, Salem State University