This article examines how prospective teachers just beginning a professional education program think about working with parents. Through interviews with students in an elementary teacher education program, I explore how biography shapes dispositions toward families by setting expectations for the roles and the activities of participants. Merging cognitive, cultural, and narrative frameworks for teacher development, I suggest that prospective teachers must cross-traditionally consider cultural boundaries of race/class/gender but are also challenged as they move from being a child and student in family and school to the professional position of teacher. I argue that the role of teacher education is to manage the identity work necessary to integrate the tools of biography and the process of learning to relate to others in a new role.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AbreuG. (1995). Understanding how children experience the relationship between home and school mathematics. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 2, 119—142.
2.
AmnionM. S. E. (1999). Preparing Constructivist teachers for parent involvement: The developmental teacher education program. In and and AmnionM.S. (Ed.), Joining hands: Preparing teachers to make meaningful home-school connections (pp. 16—36). Sacramento: California Department of Education.
3.
BiklenS. K. (1995). School work. Gender and the cultural construction of teaching. New York: Teachers College Press.
4.
BrantlingerE. (2003). Dividing classes: How the middle class negotiates and rationalizes school advantage. New York: Falmer.
5.
BroussardC. A. (2000). Preparing teachers to work with families: A national survey of teacher education programs. Equity and Excellence in Education, 33(2), 41—49.
ChavkinN., and WilliamsD. (1988). Critical issues in teacher training for parent involvement. Educational Horizons, 66(2), 87—89.
8.
ChenX. (2001). Efforts by public K-8 schools to involve parents in children's education: Do school and parent reports agree? (NCES 2001-076). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
9.
ClandininD. J., and ConnelleyF. M. (1991). Narrative and story in practice and research. In and and SchonD. (Ed.), The reflective turn: Case studies in and on educational practice (pp. 258—281). New York: Teacher College Press.
10.
Compton-LillyC. (2003). Reading families. The literate lives of urban children. New York: Teachers College Press.
11.
de AcostaM. (1996). A foundational approach in preparing teachers for family and community involvement in children's education. Journal of Teacher Education, 47(1), 9—15.
12.
DelpitL. (1992). Other people's children. Cultural conflict in the classroom. New York: New Press.
13.
DesimoneL. (1999). Linking parental involvement with student achievement: Do race & income matter?Journal of Educational Research, 93, 11—30.
14.
EdwardsP., PleasantsW. H. M., and FranklinS. H. (1999). A path to follow: Learning to listen to parents. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
15.
EpsteinJ. L. (1995). School/family/community partnerships. Caring for the children we share. Phi Delta Kappan, 76(9), 701—713.
16.
Feiman-NemserS., and FlodenR. E. (1986). The cultures of teaching. In and and WittrockM.C. (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (3rd ed., pp. 505—526). New York: Macmillan.
17.
FosterJ., and LovenR. (1992). The need and direction for parent involvement in the 90s: Undergraduate perspectives and expectations. Action in Teacher Education, 14(3), 13—18.
18.
GayG. (2000). Culturally responsive teaching. Theory, research, and practice. New York: Teachers College Press.
19.
GoldsteinL. S., and LakeV. E. (2000). “Love, love, and more love for children”: Exploring preservice teachers’ understanding of caring. Teaching and Teacher Education, 16, 861—872.
20.
GomezM. L. (1994). Teacher education reform and prospective teacher's perspectives on teaching “other people's” children. Teaching and Teacher Education, 10(3), 319—334.
21.
GomezM. L., WalkerA. B., and PageM. L. (2000). Personal experience as a guide to teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 16, 731—747.
22.
GraueE., and BrownC. P. (2003). Preservice teachers’ notions of families and schooling. Teaching and Teacher Education, 19, 719—735.
23.
GraueM. E., and WalshD. J. (1998). Studying children in context: Theories, methods, and ethics. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
24.
HeathS. B. (1983). Ways with words: Language, life, and work in communities and classrooms. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
25.
HenryM. (1996). Parent-school collaboration. Feminist organizational structures and school leadership. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
26.
HollandD., LachicotteW., SkinnerD., and CainC. (1998). Identity and agency in cultural worlds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
27.
HollingsworthS. (1989). Prior beliefs and cognitive change in learning to teach. American Educational Research Journal, 26(2), 160—189.
28.
Hoover-DempseyK. V., and SandlerH. M. (1997). Why do parents become involved in their children's education?Review of Educational Research, 67(1), 3—42.
29.
KaganD. (1992). Professional growth among preservice and beginning teachers. Review of Educational Research, 62(2), 129—169.
30.
KatzL. (1995). Talks with teachers of young children: A collection. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
31.
KingS. H. (1993). The limited presence of African-American teachers. Review of Educational Research, 63, 115—149.
32.
Ladson-BillingsG. (1994). The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African-American children. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
33.
Ladson-BillingsG. (2001). Crossing over to Canaan. The journey of new teachers in diverse classrooms. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
34.
LareauA. (1989). Home advantage. London: Falmer.
35.
LightfootS. L. (1978). Worlds apart. New York: Basic Books.
36.
LightfootS. L. (2003). The essential conversation. What parents and teachers can learn from each other.
37.
LubeckS. (1998). Is DAP for everyone? A response. Childhood Education, 74(5), 299—301.
McCrayA. D., SindelarP. T., KilgoreK. K., and NealL. I. (2002). African-American women's decisions to become teachers: Sociocultural perspectives. Qualitative Studies in Educaiton, 15(3), 269—290.
40.
MiedelW. T., and ReynoldsA. J. (1999). Parental involvement in early intervention for disadvantaged children: Does it matter?Journal of School Psychology, 37, 379—402.
41.
MollL. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching. Theory Into Practice, 31(2), 132—141.
42.
MorrisV. G., and TaylorS. I. (1998). Alleviating barriers to family involvement in education: The role of teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 14(2), 219—231.
43.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2002). Digest of education statistics. Washington DC: Author.
44.
PajaresM. (1992). Teachers’ beliefs and educational research: Cleaning up a messy construct. Review of Educational Research, 63, 307—332.
45.
RoseN. (1990). Governing the soul: The shaping of the private self. London: Routledge.
46.
SawyerR. K. (2001). Creating conversations. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.
47.
ShartrandA. M., WeissH. B., KreiderH. M., and LopezM. E. (1997). New skills for new schools: Preparing teachers in family involvement. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Family Research Project.
48.
TichenorM. S. (1997). Teacher Education and Parent involvement: Reflections from preservice teachers. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 24, 233—239.
49.
TichenorM. S. (1998). Preservice teachers’ attitudes toward parent involvement: Implications for teacher education. The Teacher Educator, 33(4), 248—259.
50.
TrumbullE., Rothstein-FischC., GreenfieldP. M., and QuirozB. (2001). Bridging cultures between home and school. A guide for teachers. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
51.
ValdesG. (1996). Con respeto. Bridging the distances bewteen culturally diverse families and schools. New York: Teachers College Press.
52.
WallerW. (1932). The sociology of teaching. New York: John Wiley.
