Critical Conversations in Practice-Based Teacher Education: Fostering Equitable Teaching in a Yearlong Practicum

ABSTRACT This study explores the use of critical conversations in a field-based practicum setting to develop dispositions toward, and understandings of, equitable teaching practices. To date, few studies have examined how mentors and mentees use shared reflection to examine issues of equity alongside learning how to teach. Using self-study methods and discourse analysis, I describe how two mentors and one preservice teacher engaged in five critical conversations across one school year. Critical conversations centered around how to design curriculum and use inclusive teaching practices to serve culturally, linguistically, and racially minoritized students in one fifth grade classroom. Findings indicate the participants used ten discursive strategies to initiate and sustain critical conversations, and issues of race surfaced new tensions that challenged the group’s collaboration. Given the turn toward practice-based teacher education, this study offers insights into the ways mentors and mentees can use critical conversations to mediate field experiences and suggests the need for repurposing existing resources to prepare culturally relevant, antiracist, and equity-focused educators.