Politicizing difference: Interpreting citizenship as a dimension of diversity in pre-service teachers’ narratives

In examining life history narratives of 14 linguistically and culturally diverse pre-service teachers, this study addresses two research questions: How do pre-service teachers construct difference between themselves and others? How do they express a sense of belonging and community membership (or construct citizenship) in representing themselves as prospective teachers of ELs? Data were generated through individual life history and focus group interviews, journal entries, and beliefs surveys. Several levels of narrative analyses were conducted, including holistic (thematic) content analysis and analysis of particular textual elements. Attending to citizenship as a power-laden dimension of diversity provides a space to challenge dominant ideologies. The authors call for teacher education to more aggressively address the ways in which constructions of difference and citizenship are inter-related and how pre-service teachers’ views and the ways in which they reflect upon their experiences influence their imagined (mis)conceptions of ELs as learners and participants in classroom communities.

► We examine life histories of linguistically/culturally diverse pre-service teachers.
► All participants discursively construct difference between themselves and others.
► They attend to complex dimensions of belonging, participation, and citizenship.
► We resist essentialism and deficit views in teacher education for English learners.