Narrative Portfolios as Culturally Responsive Resistance to Neoliberal Early Childhood Teacher Education: A Case Study

Abstract

This article examines an early childhood preservice teacher narrative portfolio project created by teacher educators working in a public university in the United States. We explore preservice teachers’ and teacher educators’ experiences with the project across four cohorts using a case study design. Data include narrative vignettes and interviews with preservice teachers and teacher educators. Over the four years, the preservice teachers and teacher educators grew in their understandings of how to use culturally responsive pedagogy in their teaching; once in professional teaching positions, however, our graduates experienced significant challenges in navigating spaces for continued growth in this area of their practice. Teacher educators grew in their knowledge of how to support preservice teachers’ thinking related to culturally responsive teaching as a form of resistance to neoliberal education; however, continual narrowing of the assessment context influenced their abilities to scaffold the portfolio narratives.