Missing Voices: Challenging the Assumptions of an Emerging Framework by Listening to Pre-Service Teachers of Color

The Inspiration/Content Dichotomy (I/CD) framework has been used to understand and assess pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) affective and academic expectations for their future students. Unfortunately, the framework was developed without intentionally including PSTs of color. It is possible that the I/CD does not represent the teaching expectations of PSTs of color. This critical case study is the first step in addressing this oversight. Interviews of three PSTs of color revealed that although the I/CD accurately represents their affective and academic expectations of their future students, it fails to represent a third category of “protective expectations.” Data from the interviews both confirm and call into question the suitability of the I/CD as a framework for understanding the expectations of PSTs of color.