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Abstract
In this study, I inquire into the tensions experienced by pre-service teachers (PSTs) as they develop conceptions of teaching during their formal teacher education and associated field-based experiences. Data for this study was collected at a large public university in the Southeastern United States as pre-service English Language Arts (ELA) teachers engaged in a Community Inquiry Project (CIP) meant to introduce them to the local communities as part of their teacher education coursework. The study is organized into three manuscripts. In the first manuscript I draw on theories of place-conscious pedagogies, funds of knowledge, and teacher identity development to inquire into pre-service ELA teachers developing conceptions of community as they engaged in the CIP. Findings suggest that PSTs experiences with communities and schools growing up could limit their understanding of reciprocity between communities and schools as teachers, and their potential to take a funds of knowledge approach to teaching.In the second manuscript I draw on theoretical approaches to teacher identity development and care in teaching as I inquire into the ways that one PSTs personal experiences with and expectations for teaching conflicted with those of his Mentor Teacher during student teaching, potentially contributing to the PSTs choice to leave teaching altogether. Findings suggest that teacher educators should encourage PSTs to reflect on their expectations of the mentor relationship and to interrogate their own expectations and definitions of care as they complete student teaching.In the third manuscript I take the stance of a teacher-researcher to analyze the specific documents and tasks used to introduce PSTs to the CIP. I draw on sociocultural approaches to teacher development and literature on experiential education in teacher education to provide a background for the CIP and respective study and offer critical whiteness studies as an appropriate lens through which to analyze the various elements of the CIP. Findings suggest that the CIP limited PSTs characterizations of community, understandings of sociocultural approaches to learning, relationships to the community, and perceptions of the role of community in teaching.