This volume identifies, problematizes, and discusses issues specific to the design of educational programs for teacher candidates from working class, ethnic- and language-minority, and immigrant backgrounds, taking as its starting point the distinctive, complex perspectives that these candidates bring to the university classroom.
"This important volume puts the pedagogical tire to the road; it demonstrates the efficacy and creativity of critical classroom practice on the ground, and, in so doing, advances the cause of teacher education at a time in which many teachers and students are awakening fitfully from their hypnopompic state and reminding the rest of us that in standing idle we risk being suffocated by our own past. At a time when our social roles as citizens have become increasingly corporatized and instrumentalized in a world which hides necessity in the name of consumer desire, this book offers a beacon of insight into just what can be accomplished in the classroom both to enrich everyday life and to build alternative futures." - Peter McLaren, Professor, University of California, Los Angeles, USA " Knowledge, Pedagogy, and Postmulticulturalism takes seriously the premise that teacher candidates from working-class and non-dominant backgrounds bring a rich and highly textured perspective to their work and studies. By honoring the funds of knowledge that these students bring to their courses in teacher education, teacher educators can leverage the affordances of their experiences. This book raises important questions about the alternative canons that can be incorporated into a commitment to 'community cultural wealth' that can be a centerpiece for the curricula in urban teacher education programs. Given the current debates concerning teacher preparation programs, this book is timely, original, and provocative." - Norma González, Professor, The University of Arizona, USA