ERIC Number: EJ1450325
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024-Dec
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1056-7941
EISSN: EISSN-1949-3533
Available Date: N/A
Preparing Inclusive Early Childhood Educators (PIECE): A Conceptualization of Multilingualism, English Learning, and Inclusivity
Leanne M. Evans; Tatiana Joseph; Sara Jozwik; Maggie Bartlett
TESOL Journal, v15 n4 e863 2024
The purpose of this article is to share the examination of inclusivity as a paradigm for fostering authenticity and agency (Moore, 2017) among teacher candidates. This framing challenges the notion of inclusion as a tool of meritocracy used to manage learners through expectations that uphold monolingualism, decenter racial histories, and rely on rigid behavior plans. In this work, the authors interrogate the impact inclusion as assimilation has on English learners' authentic ways of knowing and being. Thus, they present a conceptualization of spaces of difference (Agbenyaga & Klibthong, 2012) within the context of an Inclusive Early Childhood Teacher Education (IECTE) program and the objectives of the Preparing Inclusive Early Childhood Educators (PIECE) project. With its rigorous coursework, clinical experiences, multi-tiered mentorship, and practice-based professional development, the PIECE project aims to develop inclusive early childhood educators at the preservice and in-service levels. Infused throughout the PIECE project is an emphasis on cultivating the knowledge and skills needed to provide high-quality instruction that improves educational outcomes for English learners (ELs). Frameworks of transformative theory and intersectionality perspectives provided the authors with a grounding for the work within the PIECE project community of learners (i.e., teacher candidates, teacher educators, and school district partners). This article summarizes critical concepts of inclusivity centered in the PIECE project work. These concepts include (1) understanding oneself to look beyond; (2) disrupting notions of normalcy and naturalized language; and (3) reconceptualizing inclusivity as a social justice act.
Descriptors: Inclusion, Early Childhood Teachers, Multilingualism, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Acculturation, Knowledge Level, Skill Development, Preservice Teachers, Teacher Education Programs
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www-wiley-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A