Abstract
This qualitative case study explored how preservice teachers in an undergraduate ESOL course in Spring 2025 at a College of Education in Southwest Florida engaged with a classroom role-play activity designed around intersecting student identities, raising questions about teachers’ attitudes toward students whose language backgrounds, racial and ethnic identities, family circumstances, and other dimensions of experience shape their participation and belonging in school. Grounded in theories of identity, power, and teaching as a reflective practice, the study examines how role-play can support preservice teachers in reflecting on their attitudes and assumptions as they prepare to teach multilingual learners. The activity involved preservice teachers working in small groups to develop and perform school-based scenarios based on randomly assigned intersecting identities drawn from a range of dimensions, including race/ethnicity, gender, language background, religion, socioeconomic status, and disability. Data sources included classroom observations, debriefing discussion notes, and individual written reflections. Four themes were constructed using thematic analysis: resistance, discomfort, empathy, and recognition of opportunity. While some preservice teachers expressed initial hesitation or skepticism, others found the experience meaningful, particularly those who related personally to the scenarios. The findings suggest that role-play may be a useful pedagogical strategy in teacher preparation, as it provides a structured space for preservice teachers to engage with the complexities of teaching students from different backgrounds and to begin reflecting on their responsibilities as future educators.
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APA 7th edition
In-text citation: (Halpern et al., 2026)
Reference: Halpern, C., Yantorn, B., Mendez, L., & Castañeda, M. (2026). Resistance, discomfort, and belonging: Role-play as a pedagogical strategy in ESOL teacher preparation.
Asia Pacific Journal of Education and Society, 14(1), Article 13.
https://doi.org/10.20897/apjes/18738
AMA 10th edition
In-text citation: (1), (2), (3), etc.
Reference: Halpern C, Yantorn B, Mendez L, Castañeda M. Resistance, discomfort, and belonging: Role-play as a pedagogical strategy in ESOL teacher preparation.
Asia Pacific Journal of Education and Society. 2026;14(1), 13.
https://doi.org/10.20897/apjes/18738
Chicago
In-text citation: (Halpern et al., 2026)
Reference: Halpern, Clarisse, Brooke Yantorn, Lizbeth Mendez, and Michelle Castañeda. "Resistance, discomfort, and belonging: Role-play as a pedagogical strategy in ESOL teacher preparation".
Asia Pacific Journal of Education and Society 2026 14 no. 1 (2026): 13.
https://doi.org/10.20897/apjes/18738
Harvard
In-text citation: (Halpern et al., 2026)
Reference: Halpern, C., Yantorn, B., Mendez, L., and Castañeda, M. (2026). Resistance, discomfort, and belonging: Role-play as a pedagogical strategy in ESOL teacher preparation.
Asia Pacific Journal of Education and Society, 14(1), 13.
https://doi.org/10.20897/apjes/18738
MLA
In-text citation: (Halpern et al., 2026)
Reference: Halpern, Clarisse et al. "Resistance, discomfort, and belonging: Role-play as a pedagogical strategy in ESOL teacher preparation".
Asia Pacific Journal of Education and Society, vol. 14, no. 1, 2026, 13.
https://doi.org/10.20897/apjes/18738
Vancouver
In-text citation: (1), (2), (3), etc.
Reference: Halpern C, Yantorn B, Mendez L, Castañeda M. Resistance, discomfort, and belonging: Role-play as a pedagogical strategy in ESOL teacher preparation. Asia Pacific Journal of Education and Society. 2026;14(1):13.
https://doi.org/10.20897/apjes/18738