Conceptualizing Identity, Learning and Social Justice in Community-Based Learning

This article was published in Teaching and Teacher Education, Volume 26, Issue 7,
Author(s): Valerie Farnsworth, 'Conceptualizing Identity, Learning and Social Justice in Community-Based Learning', Pages 1481-1489, Copyright Elsevier (October 2010).

This article examines the process of learning to become a social justice teacher.
The author draws on Bakhtin’s notions of dialogue in order to theorize pre-service teachers’ identity negotiations. Interpretations of learning and identity are based on the content of pre-service teachers’ narratives about community-based learning.

Supported by theoretically-sensitive ways of conceptualizing identity and social justice, the author develops an understanding of the ways pre-service teachers shape their identities through participating in community events.

Implications for teacher education, in terms of the design and pedagogic practices, are presented.