Between Recognition and Hierarchy: Linguistic Diversity in Pre-service Teachers´Lesson Plans

Abstract

This working paper examines how a guided classroom project reveals pre-service teachers’ understandings of linguistic diversity and sociolinguistic inequality. Conducted in a Sociolinguistics course at a teacher education institution in Bogotá, Colombia, the research analyses 11 lesson plans as situated pedagogical artifacts. Using qualitative thematic analysis with variationist and critical sociolinguistics frameworks, the study identifies patterns in the representation of linguistic diversity, the ways issues of language-based conflict and discrimination are addressed, and the pedagogical framing of language varieties. Findings reveal that pre-service teachers view linguistic diversity as a systematic and rule-governed process as well as a phenomenon linked to heritage, identity, and social inclusion. While most lesson plans move toward legitimizing ‘nonstandard’ varieties and addressing discrimination, some lesson plans reinforce hierarchical ideologies. The analysis also reveals a need for deeper engagement with the sociohistorical roots of stigma to avoid naturalizing inequality. The study concludes that lesson plans are useful analytic tools for revealing ideological positioning and highlights the need for a pedagogy in teacher education based on justice and transformation that validates linguistic diversity as a right.