*Teacher Education in the 21st Century - Emerging Skills for a Changing World*


**353**

of their professional work.

*3.4.3 Personal facets of teachers' research*

*Preparing Practice-Based Researchers for Diverse Classrooms: A Pathway for Teacher Education*

**(46/ 82)**

Zeichner et al. (1998) [96] X X X Zoss (2014) [97] X X

**Professional (65/ 82)**

**Personal (67/ 82)**

families' lack of commitment to education, while others took more of a curious, inquiring stance, both groups of preservice teachers became more responsive and recognized more of their students' families' strengths throughout the experience. In Lopez-Gopar's [52] study of English language student teachers in Oaxaca, Mexico, preservice teachers participated in critical ethnographic action research projects involving interviews with cooperating teachers, K-12 students, and school administrators about their views regarding English, Spanish, and Indigenous languages. The preservice teachers became more appreciative toward linguistic diversity over time, but perhaps more interestingly, as the K-12 students became aware of the focus of the preservice teachers' research, they began to shift their views to become more appreciative toward their peers' use of Indigenous languages. Overall, the studies in this category show that one purpose of practice-based research can be to engage teachers with the political dimensions of teaching in ways that encourage them to be

more reflective and supportive of students from marginalized backgrounds.

The 65 studies framed as emphasizing the professional aspects of learning to teach focused on using research to help teachers understand content, construct curriculum, enact particular pedagogies, and assess the value of their teaching. In these studies, research was incorporated to help preservice teachers make sense of complex dimensions of curriculum and teaching, such as Response to Intervention [42] classroom dialogue [47, 53] or to learn to more effectively teach reading,

In Yayli's study [95] of English teachers in Turkey, preservice teachers worked together in groups of six to observe and work with one mentor teacher and placement classroom. The preservice teachers kept reflective journals and collaboratively

In 67 studies, the purpose of conducting research was to strengthen preservice teachers' identities as educators, to strengthen their resolve that they belong in the profession, to support their growth as critically reflective practitioners, and

wrote a case study of the mentor teacher's practices. Although some initially reported negative views of their mentor teachers, they became more sympathetic as the semester went on and they realized more of the practical aspects of teaching. Furthermore, they became critical of how much of the theory they learned in their teacher education program was derived from university-based studies in the U.S., rather than domestic. Instead, the preservice teachers referred to and quoted one another's research while discussing the theory-practice relationship during coursework. As a whole, these studies show that learning to conduct research as part of learning to teach is not a distraction from developing knowledge of curriculum and pedagogy. In fact, conducting research actually supports teachers' understandings

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96398*

**Table 1.**

**Study Authors, (Year) Political** 

*Emphasis of political, professional, and personal dimensions, per Noffke [7].*

*3.4.2 Professional facets of teachers' research*

particularly for students with disabilities [56, 61].


*Preparing Practice-Based Researchers for Diverse Classrooms: A Pathway for Teacher Education DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96398*

#### **Table 1.**

*Teacher Education in the 21st Century - Emerging Skills for a Changing World*

**(46/ 82)**

McGee (2011) [57] X X X Mencke (2013) [58] X X X Merino and Holmes (2006) [59] X X X Meyer and Sawyer (2006) [60] X X X

Moore et al. (1999) [62] X X Moran (2007) [63] X X Norton-Meier et al. (2009) [64] X X X Olmedo (1997) [65] X X X Phillips and Carr (2007) [66] X X Picower (2007) [67] X X X Price and Valli (2005) [68] X X X

Ramirez et al. (2016) [70] X X X Rinke and Stebick (2013) [71] X Rosaen et al. (2008) [72] X X Rosaen et al. (2009) [73] X Salerno and Kibler (2014) [74] X Salerno and Kibler (2015) [75] X Scherff (2012) [76] X X Schieble et al. (2015) [77] X X X Scott et al. (2013) [78] X X Simon (2013) [79] X X X Simon (2015) [80] X X X

Thwaite and Rivalland (2008) [83] X X Valli (2000) [84] X X Velluto and Barbousas (2013) [85] X X X Villacañas de Castro (2014) [86] X X Villacañas de Castro (2017) [87] X X Wastin and Han (2014) [88] X X Watulak (2016) [89] X X Whitaker and Valiterra (2018) [90] X X X Wickstrom (2013) [91] X X Wolf (1996) [92] X X Xu (2000) [93] X X X Yan (2017) [94] X Yayli (2008) [95] X X

**Professional (65/ 82)**

**Personal (67/ 82)**

**Study Authors, (Year) Political** 

Mayor (2005) [56] X

Monroe et al. (2007) [61] X

Quiocho and Ulanoff (2004) [69] X

Smith (2005) [81] X Sutherland (2006) [82] X

**352**

*Emphasis of political, professional, and personal dimensions, per Noffke [7].*

families' lack of commitment to education, while others took more of a curious, inquiring stance, both groups of preservice teachers became more responsive and recognized more of their students' families' strengths throughout the experience. In Lopez-Gopar's [52] study of English language student teachers in Oaxaca, Mexico, preservice teachers participated in critical ethnographic action research projects involving interviews with cooperating teachers, K-12 students, and school administrators about their views regarding English, Spanish, and Indigenous languages. The preservice teachers became more appreciative toward linguistic diversity over time, but perhaps more interestingly, as the K-12 students became aware of the focus of the preservice teachers' research, they began to shift their views to become more appreciative toward their peers' use of Indigenous languages. Overall, the studies in this category show that one purpose of practice-based research can be to engage teachers with the political dimensions of teaching in ways that encourage them to be more reflective and supportive of students from marginalized backgrounds.

#### *3.4.2 Professional facets of teachers' research*

The 65 studies framed as emphasizing the professional aspects of learning to teach focused on using research to help teachers understand content, construct curriculum, enact particular pedagogies, and assess the value of their teaching. In these studies, research was incorporated to help preservice teachers make sense of complex dimensions of curriculum and teaching, such as Response to Intervention [42] classroom dialogue [47, 53] or to learn to more effectively teach reading, particularly for students with disabilities [56, 61].

In Yayli's study [95] of English teachers in Turkey, preservice teachers worked together in groups of six to observe and work with one mentor teacher and placement classroom. The preservice teachers kept reflective journals and collaboratively wrote a case study of the mentor teacher's practices. Although some initially reported negative views of their mentor teachers, they became more sympathetic as the semester went on and they realized more of the practical aspects of teaching. Furthermore, they became critical of how much of the theory they learned in their teacher education program was derived from university-based studies in the U.S., rather than domestic. Instead, the preservice teachers referred to and quoted one another's research while discussing the theory-practice relationship during coursework. As a whole, these studies show that learning to conduct research as part of learning to teach is not a distraction from developing knowledge of curriculum and pedagogy. In fact, conducting research actually supports teachers' understandings of their professional work.

#### *3.4.3 Personal facets of teachers' research*

In 67 studies, the purpose of conducting research was to strengthen preservice teachers' identities as educators, to strengthen their resolve that they belong in the profession, to support their growth as critically reflective practitioners, and

to encourage them to see themselves as agentic and capable. These studies largely emphasized the value of building reflective relationships with other teachers in which it was safe to discuss practices that did not yet feel secure, to name questions and challenges, and to work together to envision alternatives. For example, Barnes [21] found that co-engagement in research, in which preservice teachers observed and interviewed cooperating teachers, supported strong relationships between them that enabled preservice teachers to envision themselves persisting in a teaching career. Another prime example came from Levin and Rock [51], who worked with preservice teachers who conducted action research projects in the previous semester's coursework to work alongside mentor teachers in iterative cycles of research. Mentor teachers had a professional development workshop to prepare them for the experience, and the teacher educators intentionally resisted defining for the pairs what role(s) they would each take; instead, they emphasized the value of dialog, having a common mission, and sharing in the work. Levin and Rock found that ultimately, both preservice teachers and their mentor teachers took up identities as researchers together. In general, these studies showed that a researcher identity can co-emerge with a teacher identity, and that both are supportive of teachers' personal growth.

#### *3.4.4 Summary of findings*

Each of Noffke's [7] purposes for including research was present in at least half of the studies reviewed, suggesting that these three purposes for research have persisted in popularity from 1990 through 2019. There was also overlap between the different purposes of research. For example, it was rare to see studies that emphasized the political facets of research, or the professional facets of research, without connecting these to teachers' personal growth. However only 32 studies (39%) made use of all three purposes of research simultaneously, indicating room for researchers and teacher educators to more fully integrate the uses of research into developing teachers personally, professionally, and politically as they rise to meet the needs of diverse students in 21st-century classrooms.

## **4. Recommendations for teacher education**

It is clear through this review that teacher preparation that emphasizes the value of conducting research inside of ones' practice has the potential to support teachers in effectively serving racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse students, and to help them challenge external constraints on their teaching. When a focus on research is a foundational aspect of teacher education programs, rather than just an assignment or a topic to be covered in a single course, it has the potential to reshape the ways teachers engage in their work as professionals. In addition, the literature suggests several specific recommendations for policies, teacher educators, and practice.

#### **4.1 Suggestions for policy**

While standardization measures were initially promoted as tools to increase equity by ensuring all students receive comparable instruction, it has become increasingly clear that equity comes from responsive teaching that is catered to the unique needs of each individual based on their racial, cultural, and linguistic positions in the world. The studies included in this review, as well as more recent work [98, 99] suggest that learning to enact this type of teaching is strengthened

**355**

learners' needs.

**5. Conclusions**

*Preparing Practice-Based Researchers for Diverse Classrooms: A Pathway for Teacher Education*

The literature from the past 29 years suggests that many teacher educators have

In order for teachers to provide effective, equitable instruction to their students, they need to develop mindsets and toolsets to ask questions, seek solutions, and measure the successfulness of the changes they make to their practices. The literature in this area suggests that building communities of dialogue and reflection with other teachers engaged in research can strengthen teachers' sense of belonging in the field, help them refine their practices to make them more effective, and can push them to attend to questions of diversity more thoughtfully. In realizing these possibilities, it is important that teachers be encouraged to build relationships with colleagues in which they can share their practice-based research. In addition, it has been noted that sometimes teachers who begin conducting practice-based research experience a drop in their self-efficacy and confidence as they uncover issues in their teaching that they had not previously realized [98]. However, this literature base suggests that pushing through these challenges through inquiry can support teacher learning and ultimately produce teaching that is more responsive to diverse

In this chapter, the value of practice-based research [6] was examined as a potential tool to strengthen teacher preparation in the contemporary context. The rich history of teachers conducting research on their own practice suggests that asking questions about and studying ones' own teaching can lead to the construction of more equitable possibilities in education. It is also apparent that in the face of current reforms and mandates, studying one's own teaching can help teachers

found value in bringing research into teacher education. The continued use of research for personal, professional, and political growth of teachers is merited, and clearly, there is room to expand the ways in which teachers' own research engages with the political. In particular, new frameworks such as practice-based research [6] have obvious potential to reshape the ways preservice teachers learn to resist external controls on their teaching and create spaces that honor the racial, cultural, and linguistic diversity of their classrooms. Across studies, it was clear that research works best when it is a framing that guides teacher education programs, rather than a single assignment. Additionally, its value is best demonstrated by teacher educators who actively study their own practices and make this process transparent for preservice teachers. Ensuring a research focus at the program level has unlimited

by teachers' own inquiries into the complexity of their practice. Rather than standardizing curriculum, one possibility would be to construct policies that encourage teacher preparation programs to ensure their graduates have engaged with research as a foundational aspect of teaching before they move into in-service work. Wherever standards for teacher preparation exist, they must attend to the role of conducting research in learning to teach. In addition, mandates that assure in-service teachers the time and resources to continue to conduct practice-based research on their teaching, particularly in the challenging inductive years, would

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96398*

support more equitable outcomes for students.

**4.2 Suggestions for teacher educators**

potential to strengthen teacher preparation.

**4.3 Suggestions for teachers' practice**

*Preparing Practice-Based Researchers for Diverse Classrooms: A Pathway for Teacher Education DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96398*

by teachers' own inquiries into the complexity of their practice. Rather than standardizing curriculum, one possibility would be to construct policies that encourage teacher preparation programs to ensure their graduates have engaged with research as a foundational aspect of teaching before they move into in-service work. Wherever standards for teacher preparation exist, they must attend to the role of conducting research in learning to teach. In addition, mandates that assure in-service teachers the time and resources to continue to conduct practice-based research on their teaching, particularly in the challenging inductive years, would support more equitable outcomes for students.

#### **4.2 Suggestions for teacher educators**

*Teacher Education in the 21st Century - Emerging Skills for a Changing World*

teachers' personal growth.

*3.4.4 Summary of findings*

to encourage them to see themselves as agentic and capable. These studies largely emphasized the value of building reflective relationships with other teachers in which it was safe to discuss practices that did not yet feel secure, to name questions and challenges, and to work together to envision alternatives. For example, Barnes [21] found that co-engagement in research, in which preservice teachers observed and interviewed cooperating teachers, supported strong relationships between them that enabled preservice teachers to envision themselves persisting in a teaching career. Another prime example came from Levin and Rock [51], who worked with preservice teachers who conducted action research projects in the previous semester's coursework to work alongside mentor teachers in iterative cycles of research. Mentor teachers had a professional development workshop to prepare them for the experience, and the teacher educators intentionally resisted defining for the pairs what role(s) they would each take; instead, they emphasized the value of dialog, having a common mission, and sharing in the work. Levin and Rock found that ultimately, both preservice teachers and their mentor teachers took up identities as researchers together. In general, these studies showed that a researcher identity can co-emerge with a teacher identity, and that both are supportive of

Each of Noffke's [7] purposes for including research was present in at least half of the studies reviewed, suggesting that these three purposes for research have persisted in popularity from 1990 through 2019. There was also overlap between the different purposes of research. For example, it was rare to see studies that emphasized the political facets of research, or the professional facets of research, without connecting these to teachers' personal growth. However only 32 studies (39%) made use of all three purposes of research simultaneously, indicating room for researchers and teacher educators to more fully integrate the uses of research into developing teachers personally, professionally, and politically as they rise to meet

It is clear through this review that teacher preparation that emphasizes the value of conducting research inside of ones' practice has the potential to support teachers in effectively serving racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse students, and to help them challenge external constraints on their teaching. When a focus on research is a foundational aspect of teacher education programs, rather than just an assignment or a topic to be covered in a single course, it has the potential to reshape the ways teachers engage in their work as professionals. In addition, the literature suggests several specific recommendations for policies, teacher educators, and

While standardization measures were initially promoted as tools to increase equity by ensuring all students receive comparable instruction, it has become increasingly clear that equity comes from responsive teaching that is catered to the unique needs of each individual based on their racial, cultural, and linguistic positions in the world. The studies included in this review, as well as more recent work [98, 99] suggest that learning to enact this type of teaching is strengthened

the needs of diverse students in 21st-century classrooms.

**4. Recommendations for teacher education**

**354**

practice.

**4.1 Suggestions for policy**

The literature from the past 29 years suggests that many teacher educators have found value in bringing research into teacher education. The continued use of research for personal, professional, and political growth of teachers is merited, and clearly, there is room to expand the ways in which teachers' own research engages with the political. In particular, new frameworks such as practice-based research [6] have obvious potential to reshape the ways preservice teachers learn to resist external controls on their teaching and create spaces that honor the racial, cultural, and linguistic diversity of their classrooms. Across studies, it was clear that research works best when it is a framing that guides teacher education programs, rather than a single assignment. Additionally, its value is best demonstrated by teacher educators who actively study their own practices and make this process transparent for preservice teachers. Ensuring a research focus at the program level has unlimited potential to strengthen teacher preparation.

#### **4.3 Suggestions for teachers' practice**

In order for teachers to provide effective, equitable instruction to their students, they need to develop mindsets and toolsets to ask questions, seek solutions, and measure the successfulness of the changes they make to their practices. The literature in this area suggests that building communities of dialogue and reflection with other teachers engaged in research can strengthen teachers' sense of belonging in the field, help them refine their practices to make them more effective, and can push them to attend to questions of diversity more thoughtfully. In realizing these possibilities, it is important that teachers be encouraged to build relationships with colleagues in which they can share their practice-based research. In addition, it has been noted that sometimes teachers who begin conducting practice-based research experience a drop in their self-efficacy and confidence as they uncover issues in their teaching that they had not previously realized [98]. However, this literature base suggests that pushing through these challenges through inquiry can support teacher learning and ultimately produce teaching that is more responsive to diverse learners' needs.

#### **5. Conclusions**

In this chapter, the value of practice-based research [6] was examined as a potential tool to strengthen teacher preparation in the contemporary context. The rich history of teachers conducting research on their own practice suggests that asking questions about and studying ones' own teaching can lead to the construction of more equitable possibilities in education. It is also apparent that in the face of current reforms and mandates, studying one's own teaching can help teachers

resist external pressures on their work that would otherwise prevent them from teaching in responsive, student-centered ways.

In reviewing the published literature on the uses of research in preservice literacy teacher education from 1990–2019, it is apparent that research is most often functioning as a way to support teachers' personal development of identities as professionals who have a sense of belonging in the field. This is not an insignificant goal, since teachers who develop the identity of professional educators are more likely to be dedicated to reflection and critical processes such as research. Research also commonly serves to help teachers examine their curricular and pedagogical decision-making and strengthen their ability to provide instruction. In this way, research can serve as professional learning that is directly embedded in the contexts in which teachers work.

While these uses of research are commendable, research is less commonly serving to contribute to more equitable outcomes for students by pushing teachers to more deeply attend to their students' ideas and interests, and to help them notice sources of inequity that might serve as barriers to student learning. Thus, a clear implication for teacher educators is to increase the use of research in teacher education for political purposes. This shift has the potential to help preservice teachers develop critical and reflective capacity necessary to teach adaptively in diverse 21st-century classrooms [4, 5].

Finally, this review suggests that preservice teacher education with a foundation in research become the norm if it were supported by dedicated time and resources through policy and programmatic design. When used as a foundational framework for teacher education, rather than just a course assignment, research experiences can make a vast different on outcomes for teacher learning, and ultimately student experiences. This review of research overwhelmingly suggests that the adoption of practice-based research in teacher education programs would serve to strengthen engagement with the political dimensions of research and lead to more equitable outcomes in diverse 21st-century classrooms. It is for all of us together, as policymakers, teacher educators, and teachers, to walk through that door.
