It’s not just about teaching kids to read: Helping preservice teachers acquire a mindset for teaching children in urban communities
Abstract
This study looks at preservice teachers' attitudes toward children and teaching in an urban high-poverty community in relation to their involvement in two different literacy education experiences: one literacy course sequence addressed issues of cultural diversity with respect to this community, and the other did not explicitly address these issues. The study specifically examines preservice teachers' (a) attitudes toward children's literacy potential, (b) confidence in teaching children to read, and (c) interest in teaching in urban schools. The diversity-oriented literacy experience, combined with highly satisfying field placements, positively affected preservice teacher's confidence and interest in teaching children in this community. Further, these preservice teachers tended to recognize children's literacy potential, while those who took the more typical literacy courses tended to doubt these children's literacy abilities. They also exited the diversity-oriented literacy courses with an enriched sense of children's culture and home language, although their awareness of literacy as culturally situated practice remained superficial. Analysis of preservice teachers' cultural autobiographies provided evidence that they acquired many new understandings about race, class, culture, literacy, children, and teaching in the first literacy course. Based on these findings, recommendations are made for reforming preservice teacher curricula and forming stronger alliances with schools in high-poverty communities.
Reference
Lazar, A. M. (2007). It's not just about teaching kids to read: Helping preservice teachers acquire a mindset for teaching children in urban communities. Journal of Literacy Research, 39(4), 411-443. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10862960701675291
Journal
Journal of Literacy Research
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
Institutional Context
Certification Level
Programatic Focus
Research Location Context
- field-based methods course
- Literacy methods course
Preservice Participants
- Undergraduates (university based program)
Preservice Sample Size
31
Duration of Data Collection
Data Sources
- Autobiographies
- Questionnaires
Data Analysis Tools
- ANOVA
- identified "key linkages" (Erickson, 1990)
Researcher Positionality
- inside (staying their own students)
- Inside (studying their own programs)
Research Questions
How does a diversity- oriented literacy curricula shape preservice teachers' "attitudes toward children's literacy potential"?
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Combination
How does a diversity- oriented literacy curricula shape preservice teachers' "confidence in teaching children to read"?
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Combination
How does a diversity- oriented literacy curricula shape preservice teachers' "interest in teaching in urban schools"?
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Combination