A study addressed two challenges in American teacher education: (1) the differences in background between a largely Euro-American teaching force and the diverse pupils it serves; and (2) the difficulty of teaching about literacy and culture in responsive ways. Working with a group of teachers, the study used ethnic autobiographies, written by…

Discusses how preservice teachers, whose cultural backgrounds may differ drastically from the students whom they teach, take up the challenge of cross-cultural dialog through autobiographical writing. Invites educators to provide beginning teachers the opportunity to discuss and be exposed to such issues. (HB)

This book argues for the importance of addressing the role of culture in the lives of student teachers. It explains how passionate dialogue in small groups about multicultural literature and autobiography can transform teachers' lives and practice, arguing for a broad and intellectual, yet practical and concrete, vision of teacher development in…

A Future Teachers' Autobiography Club discussion group/research project invited six elementary teacher candidates to read, write about, and discuss ethnic autobiography in order to foster and investigate the potential of peer discussion in teacher learning. Using a selected list of six autobiographies, the researcher hosted monthly dinner…