Preparation and Practice: Examining Pre-Service Teachers’ Negotiated Experiences Facilitating Students’ Knowledge and Academic Development

Abstract

There remains an urgent call for teacher educators to prepare prospective teachers in ways that lead to the use of equity pedagogies in mathematics classrooms. This investigation used a qualitative methodology to analyze interviews with pre-service secondary mathematics teachers using Hernandez, Shroyer, and Morales's framework for culturally responsive mathematics teaching. Findings point to a need for explicit theory-to-practice research about utilizing cultural relevancy in mathematics teaching and learning. Implications exist for how teacher educators can use professional modeling to disrupt the disconnection between how teachers are prepared and what they eventually do at their practice sites.