Navigating the challenges and opportunities for equipping pre-service English language teachers for diverse classrooms
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Date
2024
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Taylor and Francis
Abstract
This chapter reports on research designed to analyse the views and attitudes of a group of 12 Chilean pre-service teachers (PSTs) of English towards inclusive pedagogies, and to critically examine their perceived levels of professional responsibility for diversity as experienced during teaching placements. Using a qualitative methodology, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with PSTs from four Chilean universities. The interviews were structured around three main dimensions: (i) the role of English language teacher education programmes in preparing teachers for diverse contexts, (ii) the candidates’ pedagogical readiness and pedagogical responsibility for diversity, and (iii) the challenges and opportunities encountered during school placements. Analysis of the interview data revealed that while PSTs showed a great sense of pedagogical responsibility and recognition of the value of initial teacher education programmes in providing grounding for diverse contexts, they expressed a sense of limited pedagogical preparedness to meet the needs of increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse language learning classrooms. Further, the findings suggested that attempts to enact inclusive pedagogies during placements are constrained by the persistent drives of neoliberal ideologies for accountability, standardisation, and a continuing narrowing of curriculum focus.