Institutional habitus as the de facto diversity curriculum of teacher education

Abstract

The unofficial "diversity curriculum" of an urban high school and how it is negotiated by prospective teachers during field experience and student-teaching experiences are examined. The school setting, including the people within it, communicate messages such as "who we are" and "how we do things here." The intermediary construct of institutional habitus is used theoretically and analytically to focus institutional setting and illuminate how it shapes prospective teachers' understanding and practice.[diversity, teacher education, social context, habitus] © 2010 by the American Anthropological Association.