Community-based Learning for Preservice Teachers: Laying the foundation for culturally sustaining and equity-oriented pedagogy

• In Event: A review of pre-service and in-service teacher education programmes

Proposal

Background
Political, economic, social, environmental and technological change continues at a rapid rate. Globally, nations look to the development of new educational practices to help prepare citizens for the ‘wicked’ problems—the unknown and unfamiliar challenges—that the complex interweaving of these changes give rise to. In New Zealand, this educational vision is framed as ‘future-focused learning’ (Bolstad et al., 2012), and is supported by the New Zealand Curriculum (2007) focus on—enterprise, sustainability, globalisation and citizenship (Bolstad, 2011). The overarching aim is to enable young people to develop the sense of agency, knowledge and commitment to engage with the ‘wicked problems’. A key support for ‘future-focused learning’ in New Zealand, has been the codification of Education for Sustainability (EfS) within the policy and practice landscape at all levels, including teacher education.

As teacher educators we believe that in times of uncertainty and inequality, community-based experience is a way of enabling preservice teachers to have direct experience with marginalised communities (Russell-Bowie, 2013), thereby creating opportunities to understand rich funds of knowledge within those communities (Esteban-Guitart & Moll, 2014). A community-based practicum has been designed to enable preservice teachers’ growth as inclusive practitioners, by challenging tacit assumptions about learners and their communities that can result in deficit theorising of culturally, linguistically and ethnically diverse learners, and other marginalised children and youth. Responding to the 2019 Conference theme, this paper highlights how this community-based learning experience supports the EfS principles of equity, interdependence and responsibility for action.

Conceptual Framework
The concept of ‘action competence’ is essential to the context of excellent teaching (Fontes, 2004; Fickel, Abbiss, & Astall, 2016). This concept resonates with ideas of social justice and sustainability in education, and supports a vision for ethical resolve that will address educational inequities and injustices. This demands of preservice teachers the ability to genuinely ‘see’ children and their families in the context of community (MacDonald, Bowman & Brayco, 2013). A conscious movement away from theoretically deficient models, ensures an inclusive, safe, and productive, strength-based learning environment (Bishop, Ladwig & Berryman, 2013).
Within the context of diversity, there is a challenge for educators in teacher preparation to ensure preservice teachers are receptive to the need to explore strategies that include rather than exclude learners. This is reflected in calls for the development of intercultural competencies and culturally sustaining practice in initial teacher education (see, for example, Caena & Margiotta, 2010; Paris, 2012; Pecek, Macura-Milovanovic & Vujisic-Živkovic, 2014). Community experiences have been found to support preservice teachers (Sleeter, 2000) as they learn to negotiate the minefield of challenging previously learned assumptions, and preconceived notions, of people different from themselves (Ranieri & Fabbro, 2016). Therefore, community engagement, supported by a theoretical framework for critical reflection, becomes a counterpoint to deficit thought and to subsequent adverse practice.

Research Methods and Methodology
As teacher educators, we take a practitioner-inquiry stance to our work (Cochran-Smith & Donnell, 2006) where our critical investigation of our practice is guided by a socio-cultural framework amalgamated with elements of a Māori world view perspective, pertinent to the cultural mores of New Zealand (Macfarlane, A., 2015; Macfarlane, A., Macfarlane, S. & Gillon, 2015).
The data was gathered from 157 second year teachers’ critically reflective practice portfolios from the 2017 cohort of the course. The data analysis took a grounded theory approach (Chamaz, 2011), strongly embedded in constructed interpretations by preservice teachers’ as they made sense of their experiences in the community. In our analysis we searched specifically for places where students grappled with deficit theorising, and challenged or explicitly confronted deficit thought in their reflections.
Findings
Three specific themes related to deficit thinking emerged from the students reflections: fixing the community; kindness or well-meaning; and surprise. Nevertheless, all of the students showed us that they have, in different ways, brought about a change in their thinking. They were moved out of their comfort zone, and forced to challenge their thinking, even if it was only an initial step, and not as far as we might have hoped. Across the students’ reflections we saw evidence of them challenging their deficit theorising, as well as:
• Shifts in self awareness;
• Growing sense of teacher identity;
• Insights on relational teaching;
• Issues of equity and social justice; and
• Enhanced critical reflection using cultural-historical and political concepts.
Based on our findings, we are convinced that experience in the community is essential for the development of our preservice teachers. They have learned to identify strength in themselves, to forgive themselves if things don’t go to plan, and to consult with more experienced others. They have learned humility and courage, resilience and commitment, the importance of relationships, and a range of other things that are not able to be taught in a classroom or through a typical teaching practicum. They have developed the foundation of an asset-based approach to teaching that seeks to identify and magnify existing strengths and possibilities, in contrast to deficit-oriented approaches that focus on finding gaps, or needs or failings.
We have learned that our preservice teachers still have a way to go on their journey. Research tells us that a concept will not stay with someone unless it continues to be consistently reinforced. To this end, we have undertaken changes to the programme to better align and support their continued learning in coursework and subsequent practica.

Significance of the findings
This study has demonstrated the potential and possibility that community-based learning holds for enabling future-focused education and supporting the EfS goals of equity, interdependence and responsibility for action. Such experiences enabled preservice teachers to recognise their need to build their own capacity and to take agency and responsibility for managing their often deficit theorising of children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, from immigrant and refugee families, and those children with disabilities. We believe that community engagement is a powerful vehicle for supporting our preservice teachers to construct ‘new lenses’ for seeing children and their families (Bushe & Kassam, 2005, 164) that provides more equitable outcomes for every child.

Authors

• Trish Lewis, University of Canterbury

• Letitia Hochstrasser Fickel, University of Canterbury, New Zealand