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The purpose of this study is to investigate how participating in a multicultural education course impacted bilingual preservice teachers' (BPSTs) conceptions of identity and how they were able to use their experiential knowledge to create a virtual library based on a variety of topics related to multicultural education.

This qualitative case study examines the experiences of three BPST candidates within a multicultural education course during the fall 2020 semester. The authors focused on three preservice teachers’ written reflections, interviews and work samples based on a virtual library project.

The authors describe the critical role BPST preparation programs have in developing coursework that provides opportunities for building a positive self-identity that values life experiences. Such opportunities foster BPSTs’ ability to create lessons that are reflective of identity and diversity inclusive of culture, language, immigration and LGBTQ+.

For some time now, researchers have examined how teacher education programs should include opportunities to interrogate preservice teachers' own experiences in K-12. However, few researchers have directly documented how to connect these experiences to preservice teacher coursework and create classroom resources based on these critical reflections.

Co-teaching is a foundational mentoring model used in teacher residency programs in urban classrooms throughout the United States of America. Beyond the basic understanding of co-teaching in categorizing classroom models, the purpose of this qualitative case study is to investigate the dialectical tensions manifested in mentored co-teaching activities through the lens of cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT).

Designed as a qualitative case study of 17 pairs of teaching-residents and mentor-teachers, the authors used thematic analysis to scrutinize archival interview data in an urban teacher residency program located in the largest megalopolis of the USA Northeast. The authors used CHAT-based concept coding to analyze the interview narratives from participants across different secondary school placements as they reflected on their co-teaching philosophy and the relationships they built.

The authors found that for teaching-residents and mentor-teachers to co-develop as co-teachers, they jointly must learn to resolve the dialectical tensions of unbalanced classroom ownership vs added co-working responsibilities, breaking from routine so that a partnership can grow. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the prefix co- should be understood as (1) shifts in thinking that transcend the status quo and (2) the orchestration of human capital to change norms.

This new understanding of the prefix co- allows teacher education programs to better mediate the dialectical tensions experienced by co-teachers in a mentored co-teaching activity, from individual teacher learning (e.g. a pair/dyad comprising one teaching-resident and one mentor-teacher) to collective co-learning across activity systems (e.g. partnership-based teacher education).

The purpose of this paper is to report on a collaborative project and study implemented by two teacher educators in an elementary education program. To prepare teacher candidates for field experiences and practicum in a diverse (bilingual) urban school, the program uses coursework to impart asset-based pedagogies and practices.

In this mixed-method case study, this paper examined the awareness and perspectives of preservice teachers (n = 26) to cultural and linguistic diversity and relevant teaching and learning practices. In particular, this study gauged their engagement with multicultural children’s literature in a collaborative interclass activity. The data sources included beginning and end of semester survey responses, notes on participant interactions during the mid-semester collaborative interclass activity and participant retrospective reflections about the activity.

This paper found that teacher candidates showed increased awareness and positive shifts in perspectives. This study also ascertaind that, in learning to become culturally (and linguistically) responsive and sustaining teachers, they benefited from collaborative peer work that focused on learning about multicultural children’s literature, analyzing it and planning to integrate it into their classrooms.

Studies show that culturally relevant literature in schools is beneficial; however, teacher candidates often lack knowledge of such literature and how to use it. This need is especially critical and relevant when learning about and implementing culturally relevant and sustaining practices. The collaborative undertaking discussed in this study fills this gap through co-teaching and interclass activity that brings preservice teachers as a cohort to collaboratively learn about, discuss, reflect on and plan lessons as they prepare to work with students from different backgrounds than their own.

Using the systematic search and coding procedures of a meta-synthesis, this paper reviews the extant literature on English language learners (ELLs) in the social studies classroom. The 15 studies making up the corpus adhere to both topical and methodological criteria. The Language-Content-Task (LCT) Framework informed the coding and analysis of the results. Discussion of the findings provides three primary implications: (1) the need for linguistically and culturally responsive instruction for ELLs in social studies classes, (2) the need for increased training for inservice and preservice social studies teachers in preparation for teaching ELLs, and (3) the need for future research among ELLs in the social studies context.

Preparing preservice teachers to become critical literacy educators is integral to creating social justice classrooms. Numerous theoretical frameworks have been used to introduce critical literacy to preservice teachers. The commonality between the frameworks is the focus on analyzing literature. This paper aims to present an alternative to critical literacy education with preservice teachers.

Using practitioner action research, the author investigates critical literacy education through documenting preservice teachers and a teacher educator unpack their relationship with power and literacy in a critical literacy workshop.

The author describes the benefits of introducing critical literacy to preservice teachers through investigating their relationship with literacy and power.

This innovative approach to critical literacy education for preservice teachers the study documents the importance of investigating critical literacy through self-exploration rather than studying the theoretical concept.

This work not only details an innovative approach to critical literacy education but also makes the case to embed critical literacy throughout teacher education programs.

In contrast with much of the existing academic discourse, through the autoethnographic technique of “narratives of self” this paper aims to provide an account and evaluation of the progressive development of an undergraduate research seminar in a college of education at a United Arab Emirates (UAE) university. The seminar provides opportunities for preservice teachers to develop knowledge and skills that allow them to make realistic contributions to professional practice and educational reform in the UAE.

The review of the capstone seminar was done using autoethnographic techniques using a blending of autobiography and ethnography. Data were drawn from student research projects, supervision notes, course syllabi, student reflections on the research process, and the authors' own reflections about their role as research supervisors. The data were analysed using an inductive process of identifying themes.

Some of the findings reflect the themes in the wider literature on undergraduate research such as value and benefits, challenges and implementation issues, while others are more specific to the Emirati context. These relate to language challenges for bilingual graduate students and to emergent leadership development. Five key thematic elements emerge from the data including professional learning and leadership development, complexity, teaching approach, and assessment.

The paper contributes to the knowledge base on professional learning through the development of a better understanding and analysis of undergraduate student teacher programs, processes of professional learning, and the development of research skills in preservice teachers. The broader potential for undergraduate research to contribute to better understanding of classroom practice, educational reform, and leadership growth in the UAE is also discussed.

Existing research suggests that preservice elementary teachers tend to believe “good” citizens are people who follow laws and help others rather than people who embrace a more active model of citizenship that includes working to improve society. The purpose of this paper is to propose that this trend results from a self-perpetuating cycle of passive citizenship that develops in part due to state curriculum standards and school experiences which focus on transmitting knowledge rather than preparing students to be active agents of change.

The paper presents the results of action research conducted in a teacher preparation course; the research was designed to investigate the impact of a systematic effort to see if preservice teachers’ perspectives could be broadened to include a social justice perspective.

As a result of the findings, the authors argue that to counteract the cycle of passive citizenship, education to create a more socially just world must be a collective responsibility shared by teachers at all levels, K-16.

This is original research that examines an approach to end a cycle of passive citizenship by promoting social justice.

The purpose of this study was to identify and understand the experiences of teacher candidates and alumni of color within a multi-campus teacher preparation program at a large public institution in the northwest region of the USA.

This qualitative study used focus group methodology. Four semi-structured interviews of participants were conducted to investigate the opportunities, challenges, resources and supports experienced by participants in the teacher preparation program.

The findings indicate that while participants had varied individualized experiences within the teacher preparation program, many of them had common experiences that impacted their overall success within the program. These shared experiences include finding their voices silenced and seeking out experiences of authentic care.

This study contributes to the growing body of research focused on the recruitment and retainment of students of color within teacher education. The suggested implications offer important considerations for practitioners and policymakers regarding the recruitment and retention of students of color in teacher preparation programs.

We explored social studies teachers’ dispositions towards working with immigrant students in an Atlantic new gateway state. We surveyed 99 middle and high school social studies teachers using the additive versus subtractive models as a theoretical framework. Although teachers’ professional backgrounds and school contexts were connected to teaching inclusively, their academic expectations of immigrant students, their beliefs on assimilation (regarding schools’ and teachers’ roles in maintaining heritage cultures and languages), and their opinions on the effective implementation of school policies concerning immigrant students’ learning were significant contributors to teaching inclusiveness.

The purpose of this paper is to describe a study of identity development in the context of a preservice teacher education program that used a variety of approaches to support development of understanding of cultural diversity.

Fifty preservice teachers in a graduate program in elementary education participated in the study. Of the 50 participants, 47 were Caucasian, two were African American and one was originally from India, but was a US citizen. The analyses were qualitative. A phenomenological approach to data analysis was taken, viewing the drawings and written explanations created by the participants as independently occurring phenomenon (as compared with data that might be considered for grounded theory or constant comparison) (Hycner, 1985; Moustakas, 1994).

Overall, the low number of drawings and writings that included representations of cultural, linguistic, special needs and gender diversity suggests of a lack of understanding about the significant roles of these student characteristics in the lives of elementary teachers dedicated to meeting student needs. Given the strong focus on diversity education in this preservice teacher education program, this was an unexpected finding. One explanation is that preservice and beginning teachers are highly involved in identifying their own beliefs and values about teaching and exploring how their personal characteristics can be reconciled and applied in their specific teaching contexts.

It is imperative that teacher education programs effectively address diversity in the classroom for the population typically entering the teaching profession. While many programs spend considerable time and effort “teaching” multicultural concepts, few, if any, have asked students to look inward in the way we did on this study.