This paper explores how two teacher candidates in an equity-focused preparation program negotiated among multiple perspectives about teaching the English Language Arts in linguistically and culturally diverse teaching contexts. We present cases of two preservice teachers (PTs) who experienced tensions in their development as a result of ideological coherence within program coursework. One PT experienced tensions in fieldwork with colleagues who thought differently about English teaching, and another PT experienced tensions within coursework as he struggled to find space to engage in his own inquiries beyond the required curriculum. This paper contributes to research about how teacher education can support PTs' ability to negotiate complex and sometimes conflicting demands of multiple communities they work in as educators.