Announcing the Final Examination of Lindsey Pike for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education.
This qualitative study investigated the lived experiences related to intersectionality of pre-service general education teachers completing an internship in an urban, Title 1 school. A phenomenological approach was used and a total of 10 participants completed an initial demographic survey and engaged in individual, semi-structured interviews. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed for emergent themes using Colaizzi’s (1978) method. In their interviews, participants were asked to describe themselves and their own background as well as their internship school site, the students they worked with, and their role as an intern. Participants were also asked about their learning through internship and any connections they made with preparation program coursework. Interview data analysis revealed participants experienced intersectional awareness in understanding their role and identity as a teacher in an urban Title 1 school, the context of their students and their school sites, and specific dispositions and practices they prioritized to serve their students. Participants discussed connecting their own background experiences to their students and the integral role their supervising teacher played in their identity development as an urban, Title 1 teacher. Responses included descriptions of internship school site contexts, the lived experiences of their students, and connections participants made to their own backgrounds. Participants described their understanding of how student lived experiences impact behavior and learning, and how this influences the practices they prioritized to serve all students. Responses also described coursework that prepared them for their internship and areas participants felt they needed more coursework and experiences in to serve all students. Study findings were discussed related to Boveda’s (2016) work on the elements of intersectional competence. Implications for teacher education policy and practice to develop preservice teacher knowledge, skills, and dispositions to serve all learners in a variety of contexts were also included. Recommendations were made for future research, including further exploration of preservice teacher intersectional awareness and competence, how it is measured, and specific practices in teacher education which may promote this awareness and competence.
Committee in Charge: Dr. Mary Little, Dr. Dena Slanda, Dr. Rebecca Hines, Dr. Martha Lue Stewart, Dr. David Boote
Please contact Mary Little for details regarding attendance.
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