Autobiographies in Preservice Teacher Education: A Snapshot Tool for Building a Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

Authors

  • AnnMarie Gunn USFSP
  • Susan Bennett University of Mississippi
  • Linda Shuford Evans Kennesaw State University
  • Barbara J. Peterson University of South Florida Tampa
  • James L. Welsh University of South Florida

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18251/ijme.v15i1.628

Keywords:

culturally responsive pedagogy, literacy, preservice teachers, autobiographies, multicultural education

Abstract

Many scholars have made the call for teacher educators to provide experiences that can lead preservice teachers to embrace a culturally responsive pedagogy. We investigated the use of brief autobiographies during an internship as a tool (a) for preservice teachers to examine their multidimensional culture; and (b) for teacher educators to assess preservice teachers' developing understandings about cultural responsive pedagogy and then further design curriculum to enhance these understandings. Using qualitative methods, we analyzed the preservice teachers' (N=24) autobiographies and an interview with the professor of this course. Based on the findings of this study, we suggest teacher educators need to develop experiences and opportunities that will enable preservice teachers to reflect on how culture impacts teaching and learning behaviors. Therefore, preservice teachers will be better prepared to teach all students.

Author Biography

AnnMarie Gunn, USFSP

AnnMarie Alberton Gunn is an Assistant Professor  in the Reading Department at the University of South Florida St Petersburg. Her areas of interest are teacher education, multicultural education and literacy.

Downloads

Published

2013-03-26

How to Cite

Gunn, A., Bennett, S., Shuford Evans, L., Peterson, B. J., & Welsh, J. L. (2013). Autobiographies in Preservice Teacher Education: A Snapshot Tool for Building a Culturally Responsive Pedagogy. International Journal of Multicultural Education, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.18251/ijme.v15i1.628

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 1 (2013): Open Theme Issue

Section

Articles (Peer-reviewed)

License

So that authors and publisher may be protected from the consequences of unauthorized use of the contents published in IJME, we require, as a condition of publication, that authors assign us all rights, including subsidiary rights, to their work. This enables us to promote and distribute the contribution in professionally appropriate venues. Authors have nonexclusive license to use their work without charge and without further permission after it has been published by IJME, as long as the IJME publication is referenced.