Towards culturally responsive and bonding-oriented teacher education

Abstract

This qualitative study examines shifts in the ability of Dutch schoolteachers to provide culturally responsive and bonding-oriented newcomer education, as identified by participants and teacher educators involved in the post-initial Teacher Education (TE hereafter) programme ‘Specialist Newcomer Education’. A thematic analysis of programme materials, focus group interviews and portfolios reveals self-reported shifts in teacher responsiveness regarding the multi-layered identity of pupils and teachers, their multilingualism, transnational knowledge and processes of micro-aggression and silencing within the classroom and beyond. It also illustrates the viability of our analytic tool to map (voids in) teachers' ability to provide culturally responsive and bonding-oriented newcomer education.