This paper describes a small‐scale study that examined the ways four elementary teachers in the United States scaffolded the literacy of students differently through interruptions. One thousand four hundred and ninety‐eight interruptions were identified and coded in the study. Findings show that teachers' interruption patterns frequently conflicted with or undermined their planned and voiced approaches to literacy instruction. The interruption patterns in this study indicated that some teachers' interactions with the ethnic minority students and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, while somewhat individualised, had unrecognised patterns which focused these children on phonics and accuracy as opposed to comprehension and meaning. These patterns supported a more passive approach to literacy that replicates and reproduces class and race structures of society.

Many teacher education programs have adopted a cohort structure which offers attractive administrative and organizational benefits while promoting classroom community. This study examines one urban teacher preparation program that employed a cohort model. Using focus groups and survey data, this mixed methods study compared results on the basis of race and gender. Findings suggest that while the cohort structure created a strong classroom community among the majority of students, specific minority populations in the program (men and students of color) were excluded from the social benefits associated with the cohort model. This study identified active social systems of silencing and exclusion and outlines implications for hiring practices, curriculum, and faculty development.

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