story by Claire Miller
When teachers-in-training learn to use culturally responsive pedagogy – a way of teaching that values and emphasizes students’ unique cultural strengths to promote academic success – do they see a shift in the ethics and values that drive their teaching?
CEHD Associate Professor Diane Truscott and co-author Vera Stenhouse conducted a study to determine possible connections between culturally-responsive teaching practices and teacher dispositions.
In their study, recently published in Urban Education, Truscott and Stenhouse analyzed interviews with 19 pre-service teachers who had just completed their student teaching experiences in urban school settings to learn more about their teaching beliefs and attitudes.
Study participants frequently discussed putting their students first, respecting their students’ diversity, and creating authentic, relevant learning opportunities in their classrooms – ideas that fit well within the parameters of culturally responsive pedagogy.
Truscott and Stenhouse suggest researchers continue examining how teaching practices taught in educator preparation programs can influence teacher dispositions.
“It is our goal to support the growth of teacher education by determining the relationship between dispositions and practice and what that means for our expectations of aspiring teachers and student learning,” they wrote.
To read their study, visit https://bit.ly/CRTDispositions2019.