Every citizen has the right to be equipped with scientific literacy to understand and make informed decisions within the discipline of science. Educators can utilize core science teaching practices (CSTPs) to develop scientific literacy. In response, this study identified the CSTPs utilized by preservice elementary teachers (PSETs) to develop scientific literacy during their spring 2022 student teaching semester. Furthermore, this study identified contextual constructs that led to the utilization of the CSTPs to develop scientific literacy. The study used a qualitative exploratory case study using semi-structured interviews as the primary data. Surveys and artifacts were used as supporting secondary data. The identification of CSTPs and their contextual constructs were conducted using inductive content analysis. Afterward, the identified CSTPs and their contextual constructs were deconstructed, interpreted, and synthesized through the critical theoretical framework of disciplinary literacy. Relationships, time, school structure, and community were contextual constructs that enabled and disabled PSETs' utilization of CSTPs to develop scientific literacy. The contextual constructs are represented using the Framework to Develop Scientific Literacy (FDSL). The FDSL contain contextual constructs that enabled PSETs to utilize CSTPs through the sharing of power between the PSET and their cooperating teacher, school district, community, or teacher education programs. In …

This narrative inquiry study sought the voices of bilingual teachers through their lived experiences in relation to the success of Hispanic emergent bilinguals in schools. Two research questions guided the study: (1) What practices do bilingual educators consider important in helping Hispanic emergent bilingual students succeed in schools? and (2) How do bilingual teachers negotiate the curriculum and school structures to support Hispanic bilingual students' success in their classrooms? Two theoretical frameworks were used. Constructivism provided the structure for honoring the lived experiences of these teachers and culturally relevant pedagogy provided the lenses of culture, funds of knowledge, and deep sociolinguistic awareness. The use of narrative inquiry as a methodology affirmed the bilingual teachers' voices as important and authoritative sources of knowledge. Semi-structured interviews and classroom observations allowed the participants to engage as storytellers about their history and experiences that contributed to answering the questions. Three resonant reverberations emerged from the analysis: (a) the emerging rhythms of the classroom; (b) the realms of instructional and learning design; and (c) the orientation towards a culturally relevant pedagogy. These major findings revealed that teachers were student-oriented while also being content-oriented. They designed a positive learning environment by tapping into their students' funds …

The purpose of this study was to examine the intersection of preservice teachers' personal identities as queer individuals with their emerging professional identities as educators. Political and social environments contribute to a separation of these identities, which can further the marginalization of these individuals to the detriment of both their identities as people as well as their professional practice. Guided by a theoretical framework of figured worlds, interviews with students in teacher education programs that identify as queer explore the ways in which unique confluences of contextualizing factors play a role in the lived experiences of these individuals. The study additionally examined the nature of teacher education programs as experienced by these participants in order to discuss the ways in which these programs serve to challenge or reinforce the heteronormativity pervasive in educational spaces.