Teacher That Jack Built: the Construction of Teacher Subjects in an Early Field Experience Course

Abstract

Increased standardization of teacher education programs urges a reconsideration of how pre-service teacher identities are constructed/being constructed. The purpose of my study was to examine the writings of pre-service teachers enrolled in an early field experiences course in order to identify moments in which they interacted with, negotiated, and subverted the teacher-aking process, which they officially enter during the semester they take this course. An analysis of pre-service teachers enrolled in an early field experience course using Julia Kristeva's theory of the subject-intrial illustrates how their language disrupts, contradicts, and reappropriates the standardized language of teacher candidate programs. Examining the writings of pre-service teachers through this theoretical framework illustrates how some of them are not only subjects-in-the-making but they are also remaking the system they are entering.

School of Teaching and Curriculum Leadership