Teacher that Jack built: The construction of teacher subjects in an early field experience course

Abstract

Scope and Method of Study: Increased standardization of teacher education program urges a reconsideration of how pre-service teacher identities are constructed/being constructed. The purpose of my study was to examine the writings of preservice teachers enrolled in an early field experiences course in order to identify moments in which they interacted with, negotiated, and subverted the teacher-making process, which they officially enter during the semester they take this course.

Findings and Conclusions: An analysis of pre-service teachers enrolled in an early field experience course using Julia Kristeva's theory of the subject-in trial illustrates how their language disrupts, contradicts, and reappropriates the standardized language of teacher candidate programs. Examining the writings of pre-service teachers through this theoretical framework illustrates how some of them are not only subjects-in-the-making but they are also remaking the system they are entering.