Preservice Teachers’ Perspective Transformations as Social Change Agents

In this article, we investigate whether, and in what ways, the learning experiences in a capstone course in reflective teaching impact the perspective transformations (PT) of preservice teachers toward a diverse K-12 student population and the plans of preservice teachers to take future action as change agents. Using an adaptation of the Learning Activities Survey as a measure of PT and as a way to identify those learning experiences that may contribute to such transformations as well as textual analysis of participants’ reflective writing, we connect personal transformation and local and limited agency. Developing significant praxis may require additional learning experiences and time. Transformative learning theory is presented as a possible frame for developing meaningful learning experiences that impact a change in perspective of preservice teachers in their preparation programs.