Documenting literacy in the community: Preservice teachers’ engagement & learning with students outside of school
Abstract
- The article discusses how a community-based assignment for preservice teachers called "Literacy in the Community" can support their knowledge of the literacy, culture, and diversity of students that they are teaching, or will be teaching in the future. The assignment was designed to address preservice teachers' cultural understanding in the context of literacy pedagogy, and findings show that the assignment provided them the opportunity to explore student diversity differences in the classroom.
Reference
Journal
Multicultural Education
Analysis
Is this article part of a larger project or series of studies?
no
Does this study draw on a large, preexisting data set?
no
Research Approach
Geographic Setting
- Southeastern United States
Institutional Context
Certification Level
Programatic Focus
Research Location Context
Preservice Participants
- Undergraduates (university based program)
Preservice Sample Size
27
Duration of Data Collection
Data Sources
- class assignment reflections
- Interviews
- Observations
- projects with final reflections
- researcher memos
- Survey
- Transcriptions
Data Analysis Tools
Researcher Positionality
- inside (staying their own students)
Research Questions
How does a community based
literacy experience in a methods course
affect how preservice teachers understand
and discuss the culture and diversity of
their students?
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes