Left behind but not left alone: testimonies of Black preservice experiences with white cooperating teachers
Journal for Multicultural Education
ISSN: 2053-535X
Article publication date: 24 October 2023
Issue publication date: 2 July 2024
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to examine the preservice educational narratives of Black English teachers in an effort to determine their experiences within teacher education programs with assigned white cooperating teachers.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing upon Black storytelling, testimony and breath in narrative analysis, this study showcases how Black preservice teachers navigated regularized surveillance and abandonment as part of student teaching practicum.
Findings
The authors argue that, in response to their treatment, these Black preservice teachers created resistance strategies as a way to fill the mentorship void and sustain their own future teaching careers.
Originality/value
The literature on Black preservice teachers does the critical work of examining how they experience their racial, linguistic and gendered identities in the classroom; however, this study focuses on their experiences with white cooperating teachers – an underresearched area in the past 10 years.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Stephanie P. Jones: The author would like to thank the co-author, Prof. Robert Robinson, for the invaluable insight and for always connecting them to the legacy of Black teachers. The author also wants to acknowledge the scores of Black teachers and mentors who are doing the work on behalf of the children in their classrooms.
Robert P. Robinson: The author would like to thank Dr. Stephanie Jones for the continued leadership in uncovering antiblack curriculum violence. Thank you to the participants for their commitment to amplifying Black teacher voices. Thanks to the former department – Search for Education, Elevation, and Knowledge (SEEK), and the new department – Africana Studies. A major thanks to the Office of Academic Research at John Jay College for funding our licensing fees.
Citation
Robinson, R.P. and Jones, S.P. (2024), "Left behind but not left alone: testimonies of Black preservice experiences with white cooperating teachers", Journal for Multicultural Education, Vol. 18 No. 3, pp. 289-301. https://doi.org/10.1108/JME-11-2022-0147
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited