Capturing epistemic reflexivity for teacher educators teaching about/to/for diversity in teacher education

Abstract

Internationally, there is a growing body of evidence which shows that newly graduated teachers do not feel prepared to teach the increasingly diverse student body in contemporary classrooms. However, to date, we have limited understanding of the ways in which teacher educators work with preservice teachers to enhance their knowledge about diversity and how to address the diverse needs of students in their classrooms. To further understand teacher educators' pedagogical decision making in the context of preparing preservice teachers for diverse classrooms, a way of capturing epistemic thinking in this space is required. The current study used the Epistemic Reflexivity Survey for Teacher Educators (ERS-TE) to explore the relationships between teacher educators' Epistemic Aims, Reliable epistemic processes (REPs), Criteria for Knowledge (Epistemic Ideals), Reflexivity (decision making) and Teaching Practices. Two hundred and eighty-six teacher educators across Australia and New Zealand completed the survey. Results indicated that epistemic aims related to understanding critical connections predicted engagement with reliable epistemic thinking processes, reflexivity, and teaching practices related to critical thinking and social justice. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for teacher educators’ work with preservice teachers with respect to teaching about, to and for diversity.