Navigating Tensions in the Process of Change: An English Educator’s Dilemma Management in the Revision and Implementation of a Diversity-Infused Methods Course
Abstract
In response to growing concerns among faculty regarding the lack of attention to the bilingual student population in our pre-service teacher education program, the authors engaged in a shared self-study of the process of revising and implementing a secondary English methods course with explicit attention to the special needs of bilingual/bicultural learners. The paper describes how the second author, an English educator, with support from the first author, a mentor/colleague in bilingual education, identified and negotiated tensions and dilemmas that arose in a process of curricular transformation toward culturally and linguistically responsive teacher education practice. The study highlights several points of disjuncture, or critical turning points, experienced by the English educator and the ways in which she navigated the contradictions that resulted at these points of disjuncture through conversation with her mentor. Our documentation and articulation of this process may assist content area teacher educators in negotiating new knowledge and creating strategies for managing the dilemmas in practice that arise in the design and implementation of revised course curricula aimed at supporting culturally and linguistically diverse learners.
Reference
Gort, M., & Glenn, W. J. (2010). Navigating Tensions in the Process of Change: An English Educator’s Dilemma Management in the Revision and Implementation of a Diversity-Infused Methods Course. Research in the Teaching of English, 45(1), 59–86.
Journal
Research in the Teaching of English
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
- English Methods Course
- University
Preservice Participants
- Undergraduates (university based program)
Preservice Sample Size
12
Other Participant Data
Duration of Data Collection
Data Sources
- fieldnotes
- narrative journals
- Post-lesson conferences
- retrospective notes
Data Analysis Tools
- Constant comparative analysis
- Self-Study
Researcher Positionality
- Inside (studying their own practices)
Research Questions
How did one secondary English methods teacher educator negotiate the different tensions and dilemmas that arose in the process of curricular transformation toward culturally and linguistically responsive teacher education practice (with help from a bilingual specialist and mentor)?
Here's a later exact quote of the question: "How might a content area teacher educator negotiate new knowledge and create strategies for
managing the dilemmas in practice that arise in the design and
implementation of revised course curricula aimed at supporting
culturally and linguistically diverse learners?" (p.64)
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes