Learning How To Teach For Social Justice; Relationships & Modeling Among Bilingual Pre-Service Teachers And Their Teacher Educators
Location
2074
Format Type
Paper
Format Type
Paper
Start Date
14-1-2017 3:30 PM
End Date
14-1-2017 3:50 PM
Abstract
When it comes to the topic of bilingual teacher preparation, most of us will readily agree that it is a critical need in our schools today to find qualified bilingual teachers to step into the classroom. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of what constitutes a “highly qualified” bilingual teacher. Whereas some are convinced that standardized exams will identify those educators who should be licensed, others maintain that a qualified bilingual teacher needs to be knowledgeable and culturally responsive for students and family, which does not necessarily equate to high, standardized exam scores. The purpose of this paper is to examine how to best prepare bilingual teachers to teach in today’s increasingly diverse and complex school contexts with a vision for equity and the courage to teach for social justice. This paper explores the journey of linguistically and culturally diverse pre-service teachers who were led by two bilingual teacher educators-researchers within the Bilingual Teacher Preparation Program (BTP). The BTP program, a nationally recognized exemplary culturally responsive teacher preparation program (AACTE, 2012), is a two-year program which prepares bilingual instructional assistants from partnering school districts in the Portland Metro Area. The outcomes of this case study yielded insights into the power of authentic relationships and how elements of care and culturally responsive practice intertwined into teacher preparation courses developed a strong sense of community and “family” among the participants. With the vision of preparing qualified bilingual teachers, this study allowed both researchers and participants to deepen our understanding of what it means to teach for social justice; and it certainly is not with a focus on standardized tests or conforming to the norm of a "traditional" mainstream teacher. It is through modeling the practices we hope to see our pre-service teachers use, that we as teacher-educators and researchers found respect, authenticity, and caring relationships to be vital in reaching our goal of learning to teach for social justice.
Learning How To Teach For Social Justice; Relationships & Modeling Among Bilingual Pre-Service Teachers And Their Teacher Educators
2074
When it comes to the topic of bilingual teacher preparation, most of us will readily agree that it is a critical need in our schools today to find qualified bilingual teachers to step into the classroom. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of what constitutes a “highly qualified” bilingual teacher. Whereas some are convinced that standardized exams will identify those educators who should be licensed, others maintain that a qualified bilingual teacher needs to be knowledgeable and culturally responsive for students and family, which does not necessarily equate to high, standardized exam scores. The purpose of this paper is to examine how to best prepare bilingual teachers to teach in today’s increasingly diverse and complex school contexts with a vision for equity and the courage to teach for social justice. This paper explores the journey of linguistically and culturally diverse pre-service teachers who were led by two bilingual teacher educators-researchers within the Bilingual Teacher Preparation Program (BTP). The BTP program, a nationally recognized exemplary culturally responsive teacher preparation program (AACTE, 2012), is a two-year program which prepares bilingual instructional assistants from partnering school districts in the Portland Metro Area. The outcomes of this case study yielded insights into the power of authentic relationships and how elements of care and culturally responsive practice intertwined into teacher preparation courses developed a strong sense of community and “family” among the participants. With the vision of preparing qualified bilingual teachers, this study allowed both researchers and participants to deepen our understanding of what it means to teach for social justice; and it certainly is not with a focus on standardized tests or conforming to the norm of a "traditional" mainstream teacher. It is through modeling the practices we hope to see our pre-service teachers use, that we as teacher-educators and researchers found respect, authenticity, and caring relationships to be vital in reaching our goal of learning to teach for social justice.
Comments
Breakout Session I