Dialogic narratives of literacy, teaching, and schooling: Preparing literacy teachers for diverse settings

Abstract

S In this study, we focus on the “dialogic narratives” (Bakhtin, 1981, 1986) of selected preservice teachers within an innovative teacher education program in the Midwestern U.S. that included community‐based internships. In particular, we examine how these students author their identities as literacy teachers within the context of a mediated seminar setting. Drawing on Bakhtin's theory of discourse, we analyzed students' dialogic narratives as a way to understand the construction of their professional identities within particular discursive moments. Our analyses illustrate how the students negotiated authoritative and internally persuasive discourses as they authored their own narratives, revealing the complexity of preparing teachers to become flexible cultural practitioners in diverse settings. We argue that immersing students in community based environments and providing spaces for dialogue offer promising strategies for complicating and deepening preservice teachers' understandings of, and approaches to, language and literacy education in relation to issues of cultural diversity and social justice. [This article features supplementary online‐only material, including commentaries from Marilyn Cochran‐Smith and Allan Luke and Tara Goldstein, an annotated bibliography, and extensive data samples. See http://www.reading.org/Library/Retrieve.cfm?D=10.1598/RRQ.41.2.3&F=RRQ-41-2-Rogers-supp_1.html.]

Negotiating Worlds, Words and Identities: Scaffolded literacies for pre-service teachers and children

“…In some instances, the social interaction provided informal space for dialogic reflection (Hatton & Smith 1995;Whipp 2003), whereby Sally, Eva and Grace broadened their definitions of literacy, distanced themselves from their assumptions and biases and critiqued problems from a larger social cultural perspective (Cochran-Smith, 2005;Rogers et al, 2006). As dialogic reflection emerged across some utterances, it can be argued that the pre-service teacher participants increased their zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1978(Vygotsky, , 1986 through the metaphor of scaffolding.…”

“…Still, pre-service teachers' learning journeys must be acknowledged as complex and imbued with contending and related discourses. While Sally, Eva and Grace often used conversational space to smoothly articulate their definitions of literacy in stretches of language or discourses (Gee, 1999), authoritative discourse, such as the utterances of the researcher, may also have influenced face-to-face and on-line discussions (Bakhtin, 1981, Rogers et al, 2006. Although these pre-service teachers drew heavily on prior experiences with texts (Anstey & Bull, 2004) to discuss the teaching and learning of literacies, these topics had also been introduced in the English course in question.…”

“…The development of teacher identity is considered a dynamic process, informed by social interaction, pedagogical beliefs, personal stories, teacher education and media images (Cooper & Olson, 1996;Franzak, 2002;Knowles & Holt-Reynolds, 1991;Strong-Wilson, 2007). As pre-service teachers engage with a range of discourses, they conceptualize their positions and negotiate identities to enter the teaching profession (Britzman 1991;Flores, 2007;Kooy & de Freitas, 2007;Rogers, Marshall & Tyson, 2006 As individuals interact with the social world to interweave complex narratives, the duality between personal and collective identities (Day, Kington, Stobart & Sammons, 2006;Groundwater-Smith, 2005;Thomas & Beauchamp, 2011) becomes particularly pertinent for considering how pre-service teachers negotiate multiple selves. Gee (2000Gee ( -2001 has identified numerous overlapping perspectives to depict individuals' processes of constructing their identities through social interaction.…”

“…Whipp (2003) argues that critical reflection encourages prospective teachers to develop important practices, such as distancing themselves from their own assumptions, critiquing problems from a larger sociocultural perspective, and taking reflective action. In literacy education, numerous teacher educators have suggested that pre-service teachers need opportunities to challenge their assumptions, deepen their understandings of literacy and broaden their belief systems (Barr, Watts-Taffe, Yokota, Ventura & Caputi, 2000;Cochran-Smith, 2005;Rogers et al, 2006). In addition to teacher reflection, the metaphor of scaffolding can illuminate how pre-service teachers construct their identities.…”

“…As spaces for dialogue were provided, it can be argued that Grace and Eva momentarily assimilated the voice of Sally (Bakhtin, 1986;Rogers et al, 2006). Scaffolding was afforded to explore the broader politics of literacy teaching and learning through themes such as critiquing idealized conceptions of family (see Cumming-Potvin, 2009;Martino & Cumming-Potvin, 2011).…”