From the Margins of the Classroom to Mattering: How Community College Education Students Develop Future Teacher Identities

Abstract

This paper discusses the effects of an experimental fieldwork course. The course incorporated cultural responsiveness and action research to impact the future teacher identity of students in a teacher education program at an urban community college. Elements of future teacher identity were discovered for all students; however, the experimental group showed significantly more growth in four elements. A theoretical model of how these elements may lead to a greater commitment to the field is proposed.