Lori Czop Assaf

Professional identity of a reading teacher: responding to high‐stakes testing pressures

This case study explores the professional identity of one reading specialist, Marsha, who struggled with testing pressures at her urban elementary school in the U.S. It offers an in‐depth look at how Marsha’s instructional decisions and practices in a pull‐out reading program aimed at helping English Language Learners (ELL) shifted when she was faced with tensions between her own professional beliefs and knowledge about effective reading instruction and district based pressures to help her students pass the ‘test.’ Unlike other studies, instead of viewing teachers as autonomous agents who make simplistic instructional decisions in response to testing pressures, this article illuminates the complexities and contextual tensions some reading teachers must navigate in an era of high stakes accountability. Ethnographic and grounded theory methodologies were used for this study. Findings suggest that Marsha struggled over her commitment to help her students pass the test and at the same time grappled with how to stay true to her own professional identity. This tension pushed Marsha to change her literacy practices gleaned from years of experience for a test focused literacy curriculum. Implications from this study suggest that testing pressures not only affect teachers’ instruction and responsiveness to students’ learning needs but can compromise a teacher’s professional identity and can influence teachers’ responsibility and ethical sense of what they should do for their students and who they need to be as teachers.

Professional Development for Teacher Educators: Conflicts between Critical Reflection and Instructional-Based Strategies.

This research study used in‐depth interviews to examine a professional development book club of teacher educators exploring their beliefs about language diversity and how to prepare future teachers for culturally and linguistically diverse schools. Findings include the centrality of lived experiences, conflicting ideas of high‐quality pedagogy and tensions with the process. This study has implications for teacher education program development as well as strategies to support professional development related to cultural and linguistic diversity.

Staying connected: Student teachers' perceptions of computer‐mediated discussions

Abstract This qualitative study examined the perspectives of 4 student teachers who used computer‐mediated discussion (CMD) during their school‐based field practicum. Five types of data were collected for this study: interviews, focus group transcripts, concept maps, e‐mail correspondence, and archived online messages. Analysis of the data suggests that using an online discussion forum can give student teachers professional and personal support and encourage close relationships with peers and can be used as a tool to construct content knowledge about teaching and learn ing. However, 1 participant did not engage freely online and believed CMD unnecessary. This lack of engagement exemplifies limits of using CMD with student teachers. Conclusions focus on the possibilities and limits of using an online discussion forum for supporting student teachers during their school‐based field practicum.

Generative Learning in a Service-Learning Project and Field-Base Teacher Education Program Learning to Become Culturally Responsive Teachers

Research on literacy tutoring such as working in an after-school reading or writing club, situated as a service-learning project, suggests that such work can foster culturally responsive teaching for prospective teachers by increasing additive perspectives toward students from diverse backgrounds and transforming views of diversity. The purpose of this qualitative study was to document the value of participating in a semester long, field-based university course combined with a service-learning program to enhance prospective teachers’ generative learning of culturally responsive pedagogy. Building on generative learning theories, we identified the ways prospective teachers became more metacognitive of their past experiences and beliefs, developed caring relationships, and gained confidence about the positive impact they were having on students’ literacy learning.

Disability and Inclusion: Current Challenges

This text creates the rationale for the various sections and chapters of the book, thus laying the foundation for flourishing the purpose and objectives of the book. The idea is to lay down possible link up intersecting disability, inclusion, and culture as explored through the interdisciplinary and cross-cultural lens of the authors from various origins. This text establishes the rationale for various sections of the book, beginning with the voices of people with disabilities as they explore the evolution or shaping of their identities through the barriers and abilities in the way diversity is understood in various cultural contexts to see how our communities are progressing toward an inclusive society. Through a socio-cultural lens from which the structures within society all contribute to inform the attitudes and beliefs that are held about persons with a disability and how they may access services such as education, employment, and social engagement/independent living or a life of inclusion is laid down. Communication is a fundamental human expression that allows access to choice, voice, and personal understandings and expressions of value and worth. Communication is the link, in this text, to a more strategic decision-making with regard to inclusive policies and practices. The discourse brings in how the legislation, policies, and processes work together to lead community expectations so that cultural and personal barriers may be overcome and all individuals with disabilities feel they are an integral part of the social fabric of society. Finally, it culminates the concept of inclusion through the voice of parents and caregivers to make explicit the complex issues that surround living with a disability in any culture.

Global Diversity and Inclusion: Critical Reflections and Future Directions

Following the developed countries, an increasing number of countries including the developing ones have shown their agreeableness to adapt to changes in legislations, administration and practice, aiming participation of individuals with disabilities for an inclusive environment. Unfortunately, agreeableness does not necessarily ensure full participation or social acceptance or inclusion. This chapter summarizes the diversities of culture and inclusion as brought forward by various authors across countries, cultures and disciplines with critical reflections bridging the gap of diversities and inclusion building a universal model of inclusion from the learnings derived from each chapter. In this text, we share our understandings of disability and the global nature of the cultural features that impinge on quality of life to help establish what is universally true about disability and what may be unique to specific cultures or countries and individuals. The future directions lies in exploring the positive practices from various countries and cultures as exposed by the authors through their own lived experiences which may provide models for more universal approaches to disability so that a strategic cross-cultural, interdisciplinary and holistic approach may result in a valued positioning of people with disabilities transforming the world into a global inclusive community in the real sense of the term.

Developing Deeper Understandings of Diversity: Service Learning and Field Experiences Combine for Generative Learning of Bilingual/ESL Preservice Teachers

Abstract In this qualitative study, we explore 31 preservice teachers’ generative trajectories including how they built on instructional practices learned in the service-learning project, the university methods course, and the field-based experience. We addressed the question: In what ways does participating in a semester-long field-based university course combined with a service-learning program shape preservice teachers’ views about effective literacy practices for emergent bilinguals? We identified four themes in our analysis: importance of choice in literacy pedagogy; learning from and with our students; freedom to apply course methods and ideas; and growing confidence and align them with Ball’s (2009) generative change model and the four processes of change – metacognitive awareness, ideological becoming, internalization, and efficacy. We found the preservice teachers’ ability to develop an awareness of diversity grew from their work with students both in their field-block experience and writing club. These opportunities provided them with a layering of learning – from course readings, collaborating with teachers, to problem solving and creating lessons that specifically met their students’ needs. By moving in and out of different contexts, preservice teachers developed generative knowledge about ways to support writing for emergent bilinguals. Likewise, they became keenly aware of their own experiences and beliefs. Implications include the importance of providing a variety of opportunities for preservice teachers to work directly with students. This should be accompanied by written and verbal discussions to examine and critique their experiences and ideologies in relation to students’ language and literacy needs.