Critical considerations in becoming literacy educators: Pre-service teachers rehearsing agency and negotiating risk

Abstract

This article looks closely at the talk of two pre-service teachers over time to examine how they used language as a way of rehearsing their evolving agency as literacy educators. Drawing on critical sociocultural theory, I use Agency Tracing to highlight how pre-service teachers’ agentic actions are not isolated phenomena but ones developed and planned with others in language. Through rehearsals, they considered possible options and outcomes of actions before tak- ing risks, therefore bolstering their confidence to act and resist individual and institutional Discourses of literacy. Analysis reveals that because pre-service teachers rehearse agency over time via language, such agency can be developed in teacher education coursework and field experiences. Findings indicate four recommendations to foster agency: rehearsals over time, dissonance to the point of frustration, observations and approximations in field experiences, and interactional spaces for critical reflection.

Reference

Ticknor, A. S. (2015). Critical considerations in becoming literacy educators: Pre-service teachers rehearsing agency and negotiating risk. Teaching Education, 26(4), 383–399. doi: 10.1080/10476210.2015.1034678

Journal

Teaching Education

Analysis

Is this article part of a larger project or series of studies?

yes

Does this study draw on a large, preexisting data set?

Research Approach

Multiple case study

Geographic Setting

midwest

Institutional Context

University based

Certification Level

Not stated

Programatic Focus

not stated

Research Location Context

University

Preservice Participants

Undergraduates (university based program)

Preservice Sample Size

Duration of Data Collection

Not clear

Data Sources

Audio recordings
Interviews

Data Analysis Tools

Discourse Analysis (Gee, 1999 framework)
four-phased language analysis technique named Agency Tracing (Ticknor, 2010)

Researcher Positionality

inside (staying their own students)

Research Questions

"I sought to investigate how pre- service teachers, such as Katy and Natasha, rehearsed agency in language, contemplated risks, developed professional confidence, resisted pressures to conform to the existing dominant Discourses of literacy instruction, and enact agency." (p. 385)
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes