Teacher candidates of Color experiences and perceptions of culturally responsive teaching within teacher education: “they hit the target, not the bullseye”
Journal for Multicultural Education
ISSN: 2053-535X
Article publication date: 25 April 2022
Issue publication date: 20 September 2022
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine how teacher candidates of Color (TCoCs) experienced and perceived culturally responsive teaching across three teacher education programs at a predominately White institution in the USA. At the time of the study, the campus was reeling from a series of racist incidents on- and off-campus, and the teacher education programs were attempting to recruit more TCoCs.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on a critical race theory counternarrative approach and qualitative research focus-group interviews, the authors centered the voices of seven TCoCs and their experiences with culturally responsive teaching in their coursework.
Findings
The TCoCs experienced and perceived culturally responsive teaching as promising yet fleeting, missing the mark, and a misuse of culture and language that resulted in harm. The TCoCs urge teacher education to hire racially–ethnically–linguistically diverse faculty, provide affirming spaces for TCoCs, and curricular transformation.
Originality/value
Study findings contribute to recent calls for teacher education programs to attend to the lived experiences, concerns and expectations of future teachers of color.
Keywords
Citation
Navarro, O., Ronan, B. and Reyes Patron, I. (2022), "Teacher candidates of Color experiences and perceptions of culturally responsive teaching within teacher education: “they hit the target, not the bullseye”", Journal for Multicultural Education, Vol. 16 No. 4, pp. 374-386. https://doi.org/10.1108/JME-01-2022-0007
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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