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Teaching Beliefs in Mohawk Classrooms: Issues of Language and Culture
Author(s) -
McALPINE LYNN,
ERIKS–BROPHY ALICE,
CRAGO MARTHA
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
anthropology and education quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.531
H-Index - 46
eISSN - 1548-1492
pISSN - 0161-7761
DOI - 10.1525/aeq.1996.27.3.04x0355q
Subject(s) - mohawk , sociology , diversity (politics) , cultural diversity , identity (music) , cultural pluralism , pedagogy , social psychology , social science , psychology , epistemology , gender studies , anthropology , linguistics , aesthetics , philosophy
This study describes the teaching beliefs of three primary–level teachers (two Mohawkand one nonaboriginal) teaching in the same Mohawk community and analyzes the ways in which cultural identity and language impact on these beliefs. It is evident from this study that depicting teachers as belonging to specific cultural groups may inadequately represent the complexity and diversity of teachers in aboriginal classrooms. Individual personal histories nested in the sociohistorical issues of particular communities play an important role in creating teachers' identities within, as well as across, cultural groups. We need further careful examination of the diversity of teacher beliefs and biographies if we are not to trivialize such a complex issue.