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Abstract
K-12 classrooms are becoming increasingly more 
diverse. In order to address the literacy learning 
needs among all students more effectively, literacy 
teachers must be sufficiently prepared to address 
diversity in literacy education. This study explored 
current preparation practices among literacy teacher 
educators in one state located in the Southern United 
States and used sociocultural theories as a lens to 
better understand reported practice. Qualitative data 
were collected from 57 responses provided to an 
open-ended question included on an electronically 
disseminated survey. Data were analyzed with coding 
and constant comparison techniques, which resulted 
in three major themes: coursework, authentic contexts, 
and resource materials. Findings emphasized a 
strong need for literacy teacher educators to examine 

and evaluate their current preparation practices 
and identify ways to strengthen them to address 
multicultural education, critical pedagogy, and critical 
literacy more explicitly. Limitations for this study were 
addressed, along with recommendations for future 
studies.

Introduction
Researchers have examined the extent to which 
teacher preparation programs prepare teacher 
candidates with the necessary skills to teach literacy 
(Binks-Cantrell, Washburn, Joshi, & Hougen, 2012; 
Clark, Jones, Reutzel, & Andreasen, 2013; Hoffman et 
al., 2005; Moats, 1994; Salinger et al., 2010; Washburn, 
Joshi, & Binks-Cantrell, 2011). In order to teach literacy 
in the pre-K-12th grade levels effectively, classroom 
teachers must have experienced high-quality literacy 
teacher preparation (Hollins, 2017). To address 
this notion, the International Literacy Association 

by rebekah e. PiPer, Laurie a. sharP anD 
roberta D. raymonD

Diversity in Literacy Education: 

How Are Literacy Teacher Educators  
Preparing Teacher Candidates?



GEORGIA JOURNAL OF READING 7 VOLUME 42, NUMBER 1   2019

(ILA) established criteria in the form of professional 
standards that delineate the dispositions, knowledge, 
and skills required among literacy practitioners (ILA, 
2017b; International Reading Association [IRA], 2010). 
These professional standards address the multiple 
facets of literacy and provide teacher preparation 
programs with an evidence-based guide for high-
quality literacy teacher preparation.

A specific area that has been at the forefront of ILA’s 
mission is ensuring that classroom teachers are 
prepared to implement literacy practices that are 
“culturally sustaining and academically rigorous” (ILA, 
2017a, p. 2). To that end, ILA has also emphasized the 
value of diversity within its professional standards (see 
Table 1). Attending to diversity in literacy education 
during teacher preparation is of utmost importance 
because classroom teachers must know how to select 
and use a variety of instructional tools and strategies 
to teach increasingly diverse student populations 
well (Algozzine, O’Shea, & Obiakor, 2009; Bennett, 
Alberton Gunn, Gayle-Evans, Barrera, & Leung, 2018; 
Collins, 2006; Nichols, Rupley, Webb-Johnson, Tlusty, 
2000).

During the past ten years, research findings have 
shown that the nation’s teaching force fails to reflect 
the cultural diversity represented among students 
(Ingersoll & May, 2011; Ingersoll & Merrill, 2017; 
Ingersoll, Merrill, & Stuckey, 2014; King, McIntosh, & 
Bell-Ellwanger, 2016). Considering that the majority 
of classroom teachers and teacher candidates are 
White, middle-class, female monolingual English 
speakers who have had few substantive experiences 
with culturally diverse students, it is evident that many 
future and practicing classroom teachers do not share 
the same cultural backgrounds, experiences, and 
values of their students (Kahn, Lindstrom, & Murray, 
2014; Ladson-Billings, 1995b; Wood, 2009; Zeichner 
& Hoeft, 1996). Moreover, as novice teachers enter the 
classroom, they are too often provided with scripted, 
standardized, and uniform curricula that promote 
“sameness,” rather than “equity” (Timberlake, Burns 
Thomas, & Barrett, 2017, p. 50). Thus, classroom 
teachers are not afforded opportunities to develop 
an appreciation for cultural differences represented 
in their classrooms or learn how to affirm these 
differences through pedagogical practices. This 
phenomenon is quite alarming as “culture strongly 
influences the attitudes, values, and behaviors that 
students and teachers bring to the instructional 
process” (Gay, 2002, p. 114). Along with cultural 
differences between teachers and students, research 
has also illustrated long-standing literacy achievement 
gaps between students by ethnicity, gender, race, and 
socioeconomic status (Potter & Morris, 2017; Reardon 
& Galindo, 2009; Reardon, Valentino, & Shores, 2012). 

Howard (2003) acknowledged that teacher educators 
must consider ways to prepare teacher candidates 
more meaningfully to meet the needs of all students 
in their classrooms. Howard asserted that teacher 
candidates “must critically analyze important issues 
such as race, ethnicity, and culture, and recognize 
how these important concepts shape the learning 
experience for many students” (p. 195). With this in 
mind, the purpose of this study was to explore current 
preparation practices that literacy teacher educators 
use to address diversity in literacy education with 
teacher candidates. 

Review of the Literature 
ILA identified professional standards to address 
the knowledge and skills necessary for literacy 

Table 1
Standard 4: Diversity

Standards for Reading 
Professionals—
Revised 2010
(IRA, 2010)

Candidates create and 
engage their students 
in literacy practices that 
develop awareness, 
understanding, 
respect, and a value of 
differences in our society.

Standards for the 
Preparation of Literacy 

Professionals 2017
(ILA, 2017)

Candidates demonstrate 
knowledge of research, 
relevant theories, 
pedagogies, essential 
concepts of diversity and 
equity; demonstrate and 
provide opportunities for 
understanding all forms 
of diversity as central 
to students’ identities; 
create classrooms and 
schools that are inclusive 
and affirming; advocate 
for equity at school, 
district, and community 
levels.



GEORGIA JOURNAL OF READING 8 VOLUME 42, NUMBER 1   2019

education (ILA, 2017b; IRA, 2010). At the time of 
this study, ILA’s standards included the following six 
areas: (1) Foundational Knowledge, (2) Curriculum 
and Instruction, (3) Assessment and Evaluation, (4) 
Diversity, (5) Literate Environment, and (6) Professional 
Learning and Leadership (IRA, 2010). Literacy is 
the foundation for all learning, and ILA’s standards 
identified specialized knowledge for administrators, 
classroom teachers (i.e., pre-kindergarten through 
elementary teachers, middle and high school content 
teachers, middle and high school reading teachers), 
education support personnel, specialized literacy 
professionals, and teacher educators. 
 
The focus of this study was the extent to which literacy 
teacher educators prepare teacher candidates as 
culturally responsive classroom teachers who skillfully 
address diversity in literacy education within the 
context of today’s classrooms. As classrooms become 
increasingly more diverse, classroom teachers are 
faced with meeting a wide range of student learning 
needs (Nichols et al., 2000). Thus, teacher preparation 
programs must offer carefully structured and well-
designed learning experiences that prepare teacher 
candidates to teach culturally diverse students 
effectively (Kim, Turner, & Mason, 2015). The following 
review of literature provided an overview of key 
concepts that underpin diversity in literacy education 
and described challenges and recommendations for 
related teacher preparation practices.

Multicultural Education 
In the early 2000’s, the United States entered an era 
characterized by the largest influx of immigrants and 
a rising number of U.S.-born ethnic minorities (Banks, 
2001; McFarland et al., 2017). Estimates have 
suggested that by the year 2050, African American, 
Asian American, and Latinx students will comprise 
nearly 57% of all students in K-12 classrooms (Day, 
1996). With such cultural diversity represented, it is 
imperative that teacher candidates are well-prepared 
to teach students whose cultural backgrounds will, 
more often than not, be unlike their own (Clayton, 
2011; Hughes, Gleason, & Zhang, 2005; McKown 
& Weinstein, 2008). Therefore, teacher preparation 
programs must provide learning experiences that 
address multicultural education and prepare teacher 
candidates to work with culturally diverse students 
(Gay & Howard, 2000; Nieto, 2010; Nieto & Bode, 

2012; Sleeter, 2001).

Multicultural education ensures educational equity 
among all students, regardless of race, ethnicity, or 
socioeconomic status (Banks, 1995). Multicultural 
education is concerned with social justice and aims to 
mitigate educational inequities by valuing and affirming 
diversity (Nieto, 2010). According to Banks (1995), 
multicultural education relates to the pedagogical 
strategies and techniques that classroom teachers 
use to (a) illustrate content-based understandings 
through representations of diverse culture groups; 
(b) help students recognize the knowledge-creation 
process and how it is influenced by race, ethnicity, 
and socioeconomic status; (c) promote democratic 
attitudes and values towards race; (d) facilitate 
academic success among all students; and (e) 
restructure school systems to address diversity 
effectively. 

Critical Pedagogy 
Critical pedagogy is rooted in critical theory and 
refers to systems of actions and beliefs that are 
focused on social justice (Burbules & Berk, 1999). 
Critical pedagogy challenges inequitable, oppressive, 
and unjust practices and strives to transform them. 
According to Freire (1973), critical pedagogy requires 
the development of critical cultural consciousness, a 
process in which an individual uses critical thinking 
skills to examine their situation; develop deep 
understandings about the inequitable, oppressive, and 
unjust practices associated with their situation; and 
design, implement, and evaluate solutions to transmute 
social injustices. Despite the fact that classrooms 
are becoming more diverse, school curriculum 
materials are still heavily ensconced in European and 
European American cultural norms, experiences, and 
contributions (Nieto & Bode, 2012). Similarly, Nash 
(2018) and Pezzetti (2017) have recently brought to 
light a juxtaposition of explicit and implicit discourses 
about culturally diverse students among teacher 
candidates who are predominantly White, middle-
class, female monolingual English speakers. Although 
teacher candidates from the Millennial and Post-
Millennial generations have adopted discourses that 
“eschew racism and value diversity” (Pezzetti, 2017, p. 
132), they continue to exhibit “problematic, persistent 
binary and deficit discourse” that hinders the adoption 
of critically-oriented pedagogies (Nash, 2018 p. 160). 



GEORGIA JOURNAL OF READING 9 VOLUME 42, NUMBER 1   2019

For example, Nash (2018) emphasized the need for 
teacher educators to move teacher candidates beyond 
colorblind discourse (e.g., “I see students, not color”) 
and develop discourse practices to candidly talk about 
cultural differences with students.

In literacy education, critical literacy aligns with critical 
pedagogy and engages students who are marginalized 
in social action (Shor, 1999) to face, question, and 
challenge the status quo (Lee, 2011; Stevens & 
Bean, 2007). Freire and Macedo (1987) argued that 
teachers must transcend the teaching of basic literacy 
skills and focus instead on developing the knowledge 
and skills that promote students’ ability to critically 
examine historical and social concepts associated 
with ethnicity, gender, race, and socioeconomic class. 
Additionally, Lee (2016) clarified that critical literacy 
practices should be accessible to all students, invite 
students to critically analyze the social construction 
of power relationships, and empower students to be 
agents of social change.

Teacher Preparation Practices 
According to Gay and Kirkland (2003), teacher educators 
encounter a number of obstacles that interfere with 
their preparation efforts related to diversity in literacy 
education. For example, teacher candidates often 
possess poor understandings about self-reflection 
and lack knowledge of how critical reflection has the 
potential to influence praxis. Additionally, teacher 
candidates have limited opportunities to engage with 
guided practice in self-reflection during enrollment 
in their teacher preparation programs. Moreover, 
teacher candidates tend to possess erroneous notions 
that teaching is “the mastery of technical components 
that are applicable to all teaching contexts and student 
populations,” rather than “a personal performance, a 
moral endeavor, and a cultural script” (p. 182). Gay 
and Kirkland also acknowledged that some teacher 
candidates intentionally avoid developing cultural 
critical consciousness and self-reflection skills by 
averting, avoiding, or abating the value of diversity-
related topics.

Alismail (2016) asserted that teacher preparation 
programs must provide sufficient training that prepares 
teacher candidates to be “critical multiculturalists” who 
recognize “education as a way of addressing social 
inequalities shaped by differences in race, ethnicity, 

and social class” (p. 144). Teacher preparation 
programs must employ transformative preparation 
practices that push teacher candidates to go beyond 
merely articulating what they learned about cultural 
diversity (Taylor, Kumi-Yeboah, & Ringlaben, 2016) 
and hold teacher candidates accountable for enacting 
what they learned as culturally responsive teachers 
(Nash, 2018). Similarly, Bartolomé (2004) contended 
that visiting, observing, and engaging with field 
experiences in diverse school settings in and of itself 
fails to provide teacher candidates with the “political 
and ideological clarity” needed to “instruct, protect, and 
advocate for their students” (p. 119). Instead, teacher 
candidates must be afforded frequent opportunities 
to examine, reflect, and engage in critical discourse 
regarding the relationship between ideology and 
power in educational practices, as well as with their 
own perceptual lenses (Bartolomé, 2004; Milner, 
2003).

Theoretical Framework 
This study draws on the concept of culturally 
relevant/responsive teaching as a theoretical lens 
to explore current teacher preparation practices that 
literacy teacher educators use to address diversity 
in literacy education with teacher candidates (Gay, 
2000, 2010; Ladson-Billings, 1995a, 1995b, 2009). 
Gay (2000) defined culturally relevant/responsive 
teaching as “using the cultural knowledge, prior 
experiences, frames of reference, and performance 
styles of ethnically diverse students to make learning 
encounters more relevant to and effective for them” (p. 
29). Teachers who use culturally relevant/responsive 
teaching practices consider the strengths of culturally 
diverse students and design instruction according to 
these strengths. By affirming and validating the cultural 
heritage of students (Gay, 2000, 2010), teachers make 
learning more accessible to all students (Ladson-
Billings, 2009).

According to Gay (2000, 2010), culturally relevant/
responsive teaching is a pedagogy that: (1) 
recognizes the legitimacy of cultural heritage and how 
culture affects learning; (2) establishes meaningful 
connections between home and school experiences; 
(3) draws from a repertoire of instructional strategies 
that address different learning styles; (4) instills the 
importance of knowing and respecting the cultural 
heritage of self and others; and (5) integrates 



GEORGIA JOURNAL OF READING 10 VOLUME 42, NUMBER 1   2019

multicultural information, material, and resources 
seamlessly throughout the curriculum. Implementing 
a culturally relevant/responsive pedagogy is of great 
benefit for culturally diverse students and enhances 
their academic performance, cultural competence, 
interpersonal relationships, self-worth, and social 
consciousness (Gay, 2000, 2010; Ladson-Billings, 
1995a, 1995b).

For the past 50 years, researchers have emphasized 
the importance of teacher preparation programs 
ensuring that teacher candidates are sufficiently 
prepared to meet the needs of culturally diverse 
students (Gay & Howard, 2000; Nieto, 2000; Nieto & 
Bode, 2012; Sleeter, 2001). A common way teacher 
preparation programs have addressed this need is 
by integrating multicultural education components 
throughout their preparation program, such as in 
literacy coursework and field experiences (Dooley, 
2008; Iwai, 2013; Kim et al., 2015). However, Ladson-
Billings (1995b) cautioned against using “add on 
versions” of multicultural education components 
because they “exoticize diverse students as ‘other’” 
(p. 483). These understandings about culturally 
relevant/responsive teaching and teacher preparation 
provided us with a way to better understand current 
preparation practices that literacy teacher educators 
use to address diversity in literacy education with 
teacher candidates.

Methodology 
Context
This study was part of a larger cross-sectional study 
that we conducted in one state located in the Southern 
United States. The goal of our larger study was twofold: 
(1) to elicit ratings for how literacy teacher educators 
viewed teacher candidates’ preparedness with ILA’s 
professional standards for classroom teachers (IRA, 
2010); and (2) to identify ways in which literacy teacher 
educators cultivated teacher candidates’ understandings 
with each of these professional standards. We designed 
an electronic survey instrument in Google Forms and 
conducted a pilot test among a group of 20 teacher 
educators in disciplines other than literacy to gain 
feedback and ensure appropriate functionality. After 
pilot testing concluded, we made a few minor edits 
with wording and disseminated the finalized survey 
instrument by email. We kept the survey period open 
for five months and sent monthly email reminders to 

encourage participation.

Participants 
In order to develop a participant pool of potential 
survey respondents, we created a database of literacy 
teacher educators by accessing publically-available 
information on the Internet. First, we accessed the state 
education agency’s website to obtain a listing of all 
state-approved, university-based teacher preparation 
programs. Next, we consulted each university’s website 
and searched for the names and email addresses of 
faculty members who teach literacy courses affiliated 
with the university’s teacher preparation program. Our 
efforts resulted in a participant pool of 457 individuals 
from 67 teacher preparation programs.

Data Collection and Analysis
When the survey period closed, we had collected 
65 completed surveys. To achieve the purpose for 
this study, we retrieved relevant survey data that 
described preparation practices respondents used to 
address diversity in literacy education with teacher 
candidates. We held an initial meeting to review 
concepts related to culturally relevant/responsive 
teaching and establish a systematic way to manage 
the coding process (Fernald & Duclos, 2005). After 
the initial meeting, we uploaded data in Dedoose, 
a qualitative web application, and analyzed data 
collaboratively using two levels of coding (Corbin & 
Strauss, 2008). In the first level, open coding was 
used to identify initial categories that appeared in the 
data. In the second level, axial coding was used to 
identify connections between categories. Throughout 
both levels of coding, we constantly compared data to 
refine categories (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) and kept 
analytic memos to record reflections, thoughts, and 
understandings (Saldaña, 2016). During the coding 
process, we held regular meetings to debrief and 
discuss coding schemes until intercoder agreement 
was reached (Fernald & Duclos, 2005).
 
Findings 
Among the 65 completed surveys received, 57 
respondents described preparation practices they use 
to address diversity in literacy education with teacher 
candidates. Respondents included 52 females and 
five males who teach literacy coursework in university-
based teacher preparation programs affiliated with 
private (n = 21) and public (n = 36) higher education 



GEORGIA JOURNAL OF READING 11 VOLUME 42, NUMBER 1   2019

institutions. A total of 2,436 words were retrieved 
and analyzed, which generated three major themes: 
coursework, authentic contexts, and resource 
materials. A description of each theme, along with 
excerpts, is provided below. 

Coursework
Respondents acknowledged the importance of 
addressing different types of diversity, such as 
class, gender, ethnicity, and race, through literacy 
coursework because many teacher candidates have 
limited understandings of diversity. One respondent 
explained that they begin every course with “a 
discussion about what makes up diversity.” This 
respondent further explained that the university’s close 
proximity to the United States-Mexico border often 
creates narrow understandings of diversity, as “many 
individuals merely think of language or ethnicity.” 
Broadening preconceptions about diversity among 
teacher candidates helped respondents support 
preparation program frameworks for “diversity, equity, 
anti-racist pedagogy, social justice work, and critical 
literacy.” One respondent asserted that their goal was 
for teacher candidates to understand that “culturally 
relevant teaching, social justice, and democratic 
classrooms” were not singular concepts for addressing 
diversity in literacy education, but instead were “a 
personal stance on how we walk through life.” 

In addition to class discussions, respondents identified 
other coursework components that they use to address 
diversity in literacy education. These components 
included “critical literacy discussions,” “readings,” 
“examinations,” “presentations,” “reflections,” 
“lectures,” and assignments geared towards “how 
to validate and honor diversity in the classroom.” 
Respondents also disclosed that they use modeling 
to demonstrate instructional practices and create 
awareness among teacher candidates concerning 
cultural diversity. One respondent shared: 
I am from a minority, specifically, Asian culture. I 
model for my [teacher candidates] the value of respect 
for diverse cultures in the way treat each person with 
dignity and respect. If appropriate, I also share my 
own culture with them, and they know they are free to 
do the same in my class.

Authentic Contexts
Beyond the university classroom, respondents 

reported that teacher candidates gained much 
experience with diversity in literacy education 
through learning experiences held in authentic 
prekindergarten—12th grade school settings. 
Respondents emphasized the significance and value 
of field experiences and classroom observations, as 
one respondent contended that teacher candidates 
“need to experience diversity before they can address 
it.” Respondents reported that teacher candidates 
spent several hours “in schools with high populations 
of linguistic, societal, and cultural diversity.” For 
instance, one respondent described how their teacher 
preparation program ensured all teacher candidates 
experienced diversity in literacy education as a result 
of strategic field placements in schools with diverse 
student populations:

During their junior year, all [teacher candidates] have 
a field placement in a bilingual or ESL [English as 
a Second Language] classroom and work directly 
with those learners in various instructional settings. 
They are also placed in primarily urban low-SES 
[socioeconomic status] educational settings for 
their field placements.

Although 20 respondents indicated that teacher 
candidates completed field experiences and classroom 
observations in diverse school settings, they did not 
provide further information concerning the nature of 
required field experiences or classroom observations, 
such as corresponding assignments.

Some respondents raised specific concerns about 
how field experiences and classroom observations 
prepare teacher candidates for diversity in education. 
For example, one respondent confided:

I’m not sure our [teacher] candidates are prepared 
for success with student populations unlike our own 
local school populations. There’s a sense that our 
institutional task is to only prepare future teachers 
for our community, rather than for the schools and 
students of the state or nation.
Another respondent acknowledged that while 
teacher candidates completed field experiences 
and classroom observations “in very diverse 
schools,” they were concerned that “literacy 
teacher educators continue to do as much as we 
can specifically linking equity and diversity issues 
to reading instruction.” 



GEORGIA JOURNAL OF READING 12 VOLUME 42, NUMBER 1   2019

Resource Materials
Respondents referenced several resource materials 
that they use to address diversity in literacy education 
with teacher candidates. These resource materials 
included research reports, “classroom scenarios,” 
“videos of exemplary precision [teaching],” “flip books, 
“and “word walls.” Yet, respondents overwhelmingly 
identified children’s literature as the primary resource 
material they used to prepare teacher candidates for 
diversity in literacy education. Respondents explained 
that they use high-quality trade books in stand-alone 
children’s literature courses and “integrate literature 
throughout the curriculum, not just on special days.”

Respondents also described three specific ways in 
which they use literature with teacher candidates to 
promote understandings related to diversity in literacy 
education. First, respondents shared that they use “a 
variety of good solid literature” to demonstrate and 
model how to reinforce literacy practices that respect 
and value cultural differences represented among 
students. Respondents also explained that they may 
use specific texts to create awareness about diversity-
related topics, such as disability, ethnicity, race, and 
socioeconomic class. Lastly, respondents affirmed 
that they design course assignments requiring teacher 
candidates to “select, read, and respond to a diverse 
collection of children’s literature.” One respondent 
provided a broad overview of such an assignment:
In my course, [teacher candidates] complete a 
classroom library organization project where they 
categorize books and identify gaps, such as the limited 
number of books that may address diversity. They also 
brainstorm ideas for how to increase culturally and 
linguistically diverse materials in their own classroom 
libraries.

Discussion 
As classrooms become increasingly more diverse, it 
is imperative that classroom teachers know how to 
implement “culturally sustaining and academically 
rigorous” literacy practices (ILA, 2017a, p. 2). Literacy 
teacher educators have the privilege and responsibility 
to provide teacher candidates with the training needed 
to address diversity in literacy education in their 
future classrooms effectively. With this in mind, this 
study sought to explore current preparation practices 
for diversity in literacy education among a group of 
experienced literacy teacher educators who were 

affiliated with university-based teacher preparation 
programs. We used the concepts of culturally 
relevant/responsive teaching and teacher preparation 
as theoretical lenses to better understand reported 
practices (Gay, 2000, 2010; Ladson-Billings, 1995a, 
1995b, 2009).

Our findings revealed that literacy teacher educators 
primarily address diversity in literacy education 
through coursework, authentic contexts, and resource 
materials. It was evident that participants in this study 
valued cultural diversity themselves and sought to 
engender awareness about diversity among teacher 
candidates enrolled in their respective teacher 
preparation programs. Similarly, these participants 
reported using a variety of preparation practices to 
instill, within teacher candidates, ways that they may 
value cultural differences represented among students 
in their future classrooms. Although participants 
expressed great confidence with preparation practices 
they implemented within the university classroom, 
they seemed less confident with preparation practices 
that occurred in genuine school settings. In addition, 
the extent to which participants explicitly aligned their 
preparation practices with concepts associated with 
culturally relevant/responsive teaching was not at all 
clear. Likewise, it was unclear as to whether reported 
preparation practices were part of a well-designed 
and well-implemented teacher preparation program or 
were mere add-on components.

Our findings echo previous concerns that researchers 
have expressed regarding teacher educators and 
their role in preparing teacher candidates to work with 
culturally diverse students. Like teacher candidates, 
many teacher educators are White, monolingual 
English speakers who “are limited in cross-cultural 
experiences and understandings” (Melnick & Zeichner, 
1998, p. 89). As a result, teacher educators may feel 
uncomfortable, unprepared, and unskilled to address 
topics related to diversity and implement preparation 
practices that prime teacher candidates to be culturally 
relevant and responsive teachers (Ellerbrock, Cruz, 
Vásquez, & Howes, 2016). Moreover, there are 
currently no mechanisms in place to ascertain teacher 
educators’ assumptions, beliefs, and commitment 
to culturally diverse students nor a systematic way 
to support continuous professional learning about 
culturally relevant/responsive teaching (Jacobs, Czop 



GEORGIA JOURNAL OF READING 13 VOLUME 42, NUMBER 1   2019

Assaf, & Lee, 2011). “Quality teacher preparation 
depends on quality teacher educators” (Kosnik, 
Menna, Dharamshi, Miyata, & Beck, 2013, p. 524), yet 
very little attention has been given to literacy teacher 
educators, particularly upon their entry into the world of 
teacher preparation. Preparing teacher candidates to 
adopt culturally relevant/responsive teaching practices 
begins during their enrollment in teacher preparation 
programs and under the direction of knowledgeable 
and skilled teacher educators (Baumgartner, Bay, 
Lopez-Reyna, Snowden, & Maiorano, 2015). However, 
Kosnik et al. (2013) contended that closer scrutiny is 
warranted to identify the exact kinds of knowledge that 
literacy teacher educators need to prepare teacher 
candidates effectively, as well as any necessary 
institutional supports.

Our findings have suggested a strong need for 
literacy teacher educators to evaluate how their 
respective teacher preparation programs prepare 
teacher candidates to address diversity in literacy 
education. During these evaluations, literacy 
teacher educators should work collaboratively with 
colleagues to carefully examine preparation practices 
used during coursework, as well as during field 
experiences and classroom observations. All program 
requirements should be aligned with professional 
standards and address key concepts associated 
with diversity in literacy education comprehensively 
and systematically. Most importantly, literacy teacher 
educators must ensure that teacher candidates learn 
meaningful ways to use culturally relevant/responsive 
literacy practices “to strengthen a literate society, 
making it more productive, more adaptable to change, 
and more equitable” (IRA, 2010, p. 24).

Limitations and Areas for Further Research
Every research endeavor yields limitations. Within 
this study, there were methodological limitations that 
impacted generalizability of our reported findings. As 
such, the number of respondents in this study was 
small and included only literacy teacher educators 
from one state located in the Southern United States. 
Since this study was intended to be exploratory, future 
studies should replicate these procedures and include 
larger groups of literacy teacher educators that span 
multiple geographic areas. Future studies may also 
consider utilizing research designs that provide a 
more comprehensive understanding of individual 

preparation practices in relation to the overall design 
of a preparation program. 

Conclusion
Preparing teacher candidates for diversity in education 
is a tremendous responsibility. Literacy teacher 
educators must ensure that their preparation practices 
cultivate future literacy teachers who implement 
culturally relevant/responsive teaching practices 
effectively. It is imperative for literacy teacher educators 
to recognize that culturally relevant/responsive 
teaching practices go well beyond addressing student 
differences. Instead, literacy teacher educators must 
strengthen how future teachers are prepared to 
employ high-quality teaching practices that enhance 
educational equity among all students. 

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Once you learn to read, 
you will be forever free.

—Frederick douglass


