Tensions in learning to teach English

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report findings from a study of preservice teacher (PST) beliefs about teaching English language arts (ELA). Design/methodology/approach A survey was administered to 56 preservice secondary ELA teachers at three universities to measure their beliefs about curriculum, authority and competition in schools. This study explores the beliefs of 17 of these PSTs who participated in an additional interview following up on six of the survey responses. Findings Although the survey forced a choice between various levels of agreeing and disagreeing, interview responses revealed that PSTs wrestled with tensions in what they believed about instructional and curricular choices. When describing situations that influenced their beliefs, they referenced situations from field placements, coursework and their own experiences as students. These tensions reflected the PSTs’ internally conflicting beliefs across their perceived binaries of teaching English. Originality/value This study suggests that these beliefs are formed in part by experiences in teacher preparation programs, particularly in field placements. However, even though PSTs recognized their internally conflicting beliefs, they understood them and their subsequent actions as dichotomous, rather than on a continuum. This study has implications for teacher educators; by understanding PSTs’ tendencies to understand their beliefs in binaries, teacher educators can provide reflective opportunities for PSTs to problematize these dichotomies and look for teaching identities and practices that are more nuanced.

Working Toward a Socially Just Future in the ELA Methods Class

“…For example, teachers who asserted beliefs about the importance of student-centered curriculum and pushed against traditional grammar instruction in their student teaching reverted back to traditional worksheets when pressured by schools (Smagorinsky et al, 2007). Similarly, Dunn et al (2018) found PTs experienced tensions between socially just teaching approaches that gave more agency to students and the external constraints they imagined facing in schools, such as other teachers’ perceptions of “progressive methods” (p. 51) and pressure to teach canonical literature. Other articles reported that even when there was ideological alignment between the preparation program and classroom contexts, the methods PTs drew on most were from their own schooling histories or present contexts.…”

“I felt goosebumps”: emotional experiences of pre-service English teachers and the critical use of narratives

“…The structural and theoretical underpinnings of this study rely on an assumption that university-based ELA teacher education programs have the potential to better prepare developing educators. This potential exists because: teacher education programs have the proven capacity to profoundly shape and expand developing teacher beliefs (Dunn et al , 2018); and current constructions of these programs are not producing a sufficient quantity of effective teachers who sustain within the profession over time (Eggen and Kauchak, 2008; Glazerman et al , 2006; Palaich and Burnes, 1983; Xu et al , 2011). …”

“…teacher education programs have the proven capacity to profoundly shape and expand developing teacher beliefs (Dunn et al , 2018); and…”