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?
no
Research Approach
Geographic Setting
Institutional Context
Certification Level
Programatic Focus
Research Location Context
Preservice Participants
- Undergraduates (university based program)
Preservice Sample Size
2
Duration of Data Collection
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