An Analysis of Preservice Teacher Responses to Participation in a Literacy Program for New Immigrant Children

This qualitative examination of preservice teachers' experiences as they volunteered for a literacy program for immigrant students was compiled over the 2010-2011 academic year. The data sources for this project consisted of 90 written journal reflections analyzed by both researchers to develop thematic categories of the participants' comments and experiences that were reflected in the journals. Qualitative results generated from the university preservice teacher volunteers centered on four themes. These themes focused on (1) frustrations in working with ELL students, (2) pleasant experiences that confirmed their decision to enter the teaching profession, (3) recognizing that they are currently not well-prepared to work with diverse and/or low-income populations, and (4) surprises that language barriers were not as debilitating as what they had anticipated. Implications for preservice teacher education training are discussed.