From coursework to classroom: Enacting sustaining literacy pedagogies in bilingual teacher preparation

This qualitative study explores how preservice bilingual teachers engage with culturally and linguistically sustaining literacy instruction through coursework and field experiences in a bilingual teacher preparation program. Drawing on narrative reflections from three undergraduate students enrolled in a course titled Teaching in the Bilingual Classroom, the study examines how future educators make sense of literacy as a pedagogical tool for affirming students’ identities, promoting biliteracy, and advancing equity. Findings highlight two central themes: (1) the role of intentional literacy practices—such as phonemic awareness routines, interactive read-alouds, and predictable classroom structures—in fostering language development and engagement in bilingual settings; and (2) the importance of translanguaging and transmodal pedagogies in facilitating disciplinary literacy, particularly in STEM contexts. Participants demonstrated an evolving ideological clarity as they observed how classroom teachers leveraged bilingualism and multimodality to support comprehension, community connection, and access to content. Their reflections illustrate a shift from seeing literacy as a neutral set of skills to understanding it as a culturally embedded, meaning-making process. This study contributes to the growing body of scholarship on bilingual teacher education by illustrating how preservice teachers begin to integrate theory and practice, develop critical noticing skills, and envision themselves as responsive, equity-oriented educators. Implications are offered for teacher preparation programs seeking to cultivate linguistically sustaining pedagogies that extend beyond language acquisition and into inclusive, discipline-responsive instruction.