Working with Practicing Teachers in a High-Stakes Teaching Context to Rethink their Pedagogical Practices with Children of Diverse Backgrounds

Source: Action in Teacher Education, Volume 38, Issue 3, 2016, Pages 259-277

This article examined a professional development course within a large urban school district for preKindergarten and Kindergarten teachers. In the course, the teachers were asked to reconceptualize their pedagogical practices with their students and engage in learning activities in their classrooms that attended to the children’s sociocultural worlds.

The findings suggest how teacher educators can assist practicing and preservice teachers address the opportunities and challenges that exist when teaching children of diverse backgrounds through culturally relevant practices that prepare them for success in their high-stakes schooling environments and local communities.