Rachel’s literacy stories: Unpacking one preservice teacher’s moral perspectives on literacy teaching
Abstract
While teacher educators agree that teaching is a profoundly moral activity, little attention has been placed on the moral perspectives about teaching and learning of those entering the teaching workforce. As a way of illustrating the importance of helping both future teachers become aware of their own moral compasses and teacher educators to understand ways in which such knowledge can support their students, I use methods of qualitative inquiry to explore the life history of one European American preservice elementary teacher in the USA. In recounting the events of her life, Rachel Rosenberg demonstrates how she uses her own life experiences to frame the moral aspects of her future role as a teacher and especially her perspectives on literacy teaching and learning. The methods used here to elicit and analyse Rachel’s story can be useful to teacher educators who want to understand how the moral perspectives embedded in teachers’ stories influence the ways in which teachers approach and enact the work of teaching.
Reference
Johnson, A. (2010). Rachel’s literacy stories: unpacking one preservice teacher’s moral perspectives on literacy teaching. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 16(1), 97-109.
Journal
Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice
Analysis
Is this article part of a larger project or series of studies?
yes
Does this study draw on a large, preexisting data set?
unclear
Research Approach
- Ethnographic
- Narrative Inquiry
Geographic Setting
Institutional Context
Certification Level
Programatic Focus
Research Location Context
Preservice Participants
- Undergraduates (university based program)
Preservice Sample Size
1
Duration of Data Collection
Data Sources
Data Analysis Tools
- coding (open to axial to selective
- Qualitative Analysis
Researcher Positionality
- inside (staying their own students)
Research Questions
"How are moral perspectives on literacy teaching and learning embedded within Rachel’s life story?" (p. 98)
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes
"What implications for teacher educators are presented by looking closely at the moral perspectives embedded in a preservice teacher’s life story?" (p. 98)
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes