Exploration of undergraduate preservice teachers' experiences learning advocacy: A mixed-methods study

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Kelley Erin Carpenter Massengale
Cherese Childers-McKee
Aerin Benavides

Abstract

Abstract: Applying transformational critical advocacy research in college instruction can be a powerful way to engage students in challenging inequity in society and promoting positive changes. Few studies systematically measure the impact of such pedagogy on the development of college students’ beliefs about advocacy. In this mixed methods study, we worked with 21 preservice teachers through advocacy letter writing activities and collected data from pre/post surveys and focus group discussions to explore the impact of such pedagogy. The findings indicated that advocacy letter writing was a meaningful activity for preservice teachers, allowing them a professional opportunity to voice their concerns about personally meaningful issues to entities in power. A significant correlation was found between baseline advocacy experiences and baseline advocacy beliefs, suggesting that the teaching of advocacy, when combined with opportunities for meaningful practice, can contribute to shifts in belief about the importance of advocating. 

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How to Cite
Massengale, K. E. C., Childers-McKee, C., & Benavides, A. (2014). Exploration of undergraduate preservice teachers’ experiences learning advocacy: A mixed-methods study. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 14(3), 75–93. https://doi.org/10.14434/josotl.v14i3.5071
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Articles
Author Biographies

Kelley Erin Carpenter Massengale, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Kelley Massengale, MPH, is currently a doctoral student in the Public Health Education Department at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Cherese Childers-McKee, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Cherese Childers-McKee is currently a Doctoral Student in the Department of Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Aerin Benavides, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Aerin Benavides is currently a Doctoral Student in the Department of Teacher Education and Higher Education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

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