Institutional Habitus as the de facto Diversity Curriculum of Teacher Education

Abstract

The unofficial “diversity curriculum” of an urban high school and how it is negotiated by prospective teachers during field experience and student‐teaching experiences are examined. The school setting, including the people within it, communicate messages such as “who we are” and “how we do things here.” The intermediary construct of institutional habitus is used theoretically and analytically to focus institutional setting and illuminate how it shapes prospective teachers' understanding and practice.[diversity, teacher education, social context, habitus]

The Intersection of Cultural Diversity and Special Education in Catalonia: The Subtle Production of Exclusion through Classroom Routines

“…Formal interviews and conversations with teachers were driven by one main question, “What are the challenges of teaching children from LCSD families that are under the umbrella of the special education system?” Data were organized and coded according to their institutional understandings, their “internal conversations” about difference (Cornbleth , 286), and their reflections about their practices. This information is presented in the first part of the findings section.…”

“…Other scholars have approached these inherited professional practices and frameworks drawing from a Bourdieuian notion of habitus, defined as either the class‐ and race‐based dispositions that are inscribed and shared in teachers’ culture (Diamond et al ) or the institutional messages that influence individual practices and discourses (Cornbleth ). This work suggests that teachers’ responses to diversity are mediated through their habitus, which is a “pervasive stream of beliefs, expectations, and practices that flow throughout the school” (Diamond et al , 76) and adds up to messages about how things are done and specific forms of subjectivities.…”

Powerful Social Studies Unit Design: A Companion to Powerful Social Studies Teaching and Learning

“…Without meaning within and between lessons, any experience that is challenging, active, value-based, or integrative has little endurance beyond the lesson. It is commonplace to Downloaded by [Selcuk Universitesi] at 16:30 08 February 2015 suggest the need to connect disparate content with what students already know (Cornbleth 2010), and the larger goal of avoiding memorizing miscellany and teaching students understandings of related content that are usable and applicable, both in and outside of school, is unassailable. Teaching for understanding, appreciation, and life application rests on a series of powerful ideas, and powerful social studies unit design (PSSUD) is primarily directed toward this end.…”

De la Diversidad a la Construcción de las Necesidades Educativas en las Aulas de Primaria: Un Análisis Interseccional desde el Caso Español

“…Ambas fuentes fueron codificadas de la misma forma, poniendo especial atención a las narrativas en torno a los argumentos "culturales" y los "biológicos", así como a otros temas fuertemente relacionados con ambos, como las familias y la diversidad cultural o la función de la EE y los soportes para la atención a la diversidad. Por otro lado, la interpretación de las narrativas de los profesionales se realizó a partir una aproximación basada en las "conversaciones internas" de las y los profesionales (Cornbleth, 2010), donde los individuos negocian sus opiniones y acciones entre sus ideales profesionales o personales y la naturaleza institucional de sus realidades cotidianas (Hammersley, 2006). De manera específica, se atendió a sus creencias y reflexiones en torno a la atención a la diversidad, la diversidad cultural y la existencia de dispositivos y/o ayudas para diferencias las necesidades derivadas de los procesos migratorios de aquéllas a las que tradicionalmente ha atendido el sistema de EE para fomentar un diálogo que hiciera hincapié en las superposiciones entre ambos tipos de necesidades y su relación con la institución escolar.…”