| Abstrakt: |
The interface between individual agency and subjectivity, and the hegemonic force of larger structures has brought many to characterize identity as not only being multiple and fluid but also as a site of struggle. Norton characterizes these aspects of our subjectivity in terms of 'imagined communities', groups, intangible or not readily accessible, to which an individual desires to belong. An individual's membership in a particular community of practice is at times contested either by their current situation or by the way they are positioned (or believe they are positioned) by others. Within this context of identity construction, teacher candidates begin to shape their sense of agency. In conjunction with the social structures that shape one's sense of agency, neoliberal factors frame the context wherein teachers' develop their perceptions about incorporating critical multicultural curricula. In this research project, I examined this intersection - between the local and the global - to better understand how teacher education can work to support and strengthen the possibility for critical pedagogy to be realized in teachers' classrooms. The findings indicate that structural obstacles undermined these teachers' ability to visualize and place aspects of social justice and diversity at the foundation of instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
