Using Sociotransformative Constructivism to Teach for Understanding in Diverse Classrooms: A Beginning Teacher’s Journey

This is an article within an article. It reports the results of a study with high school students, teachers, and a preservice teacher; and it uses those results in further investigating the preservice teacher’s views 1 year after his participation in the study, a year during which he taught in his own classroom. Using sociotransformative constructivism as the theoretical framework, the article presents insights into the issues and difficulties that can be encountered by Anglo-European beginning teachers who are committed to teaching for understanding in predominantly Latino/a and impoverished school settings. Findings from this study suggest that an article-within-an-article format can be used as a tool for further professional development and as a research tool for strengthening the validity of research claims.