Making room for discomfort

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 290-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Betina Hsieh
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teacher ◽  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Secondary Literacy ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Literacy Course

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to relay and discuss the experiences of a teacher educator teaching critical literacy to preservice teacher candidates immediately following the US presidential election in 2016. In a time of increasing polarization in the USA, teachers and teacher educators have unique opportunities to create honest spaces for dialogue, but developing classrooms that can serve as these spaces is not an easy task. Design/methodology/approach This paper is a self-study practitioner narrative of a teacher educator teaching a secondary literacy course. Findings The paper discusses the importance of addressing critical literacy in the context of particular historical moments and as more sustained, engaged work that makes room for minority voices that may not be heard across particular settings. The findings prompt teachers and teacher educators to consider whose voices are present, absent and valued during difficult conversations. Originality/value Making room for uncomfortable dialogues in preservice teacher education classrooms can transform the ways in which teacher candidates (and their future students) engage with written and non-traditional texts in the world around them. Promoting spaces for critical, authentic and honest dialogue requires teacher educators to model the willingness to move beyond their own comfort zones and interrogate their own deeply help beliefs. This paper is evidence of engaged self-reflection, a necessary part of transformative practice related to critical literacy.

Addressing English teachers’ concerns about decentering Standard English

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 363-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Metz
Keyword(s):  
English Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Standard English ◽  
Content Type ◽  
English Classrooms ◽  
The Usa

Purpose This paper aims to address concerns of English teachers considering opening up their classrooms to multiple varieties of English. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the author’s experience as a teacher educator and professional developer in different regions of the USA, this narrative paper groups teachers’ concerns into general categories and offers responses to the most common questions. Findings Teachers want to know why they should make room in their classrooms for multiple Englishes; what they should teach differently; how they learn about English variation; how to balance Standardized English and other Englishes; and how these apply to English Learners and/or White speakers of Standardized English. Practical implications The study describes the author’s approach to teaching about language as a way to promote social justice and equality, the value of increasing students’ linguistic repertoires and why it is necessary to address listeners as well as speakers. As teachers attempt to adopt and adapt new approaches to teaching English language suggested in the research literature, they need to know their challenges and concerns are heard and addressed. Teacher educators working to support these teachers need ways to address teachers’ concerns. Social implications This paper emphasizes the importance of teaching mainstream, White, Standard English-speaking students about English language variation. By emphasizing the role of the listener and teaching students to hear language through an expanded language repertoire, English teachers can reduce the prejudice attached to historically stigmatized dialects of English. Originality/value This paper provides a needed perspective on how to work with teachers who express legitimate concerns about what it means to decenter Standardized English in English classrooms.

Mindfulness for teachers: notes toward a discursive cartography

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-108
Author(s):  
Remy Low
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Entry Point ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
Educational Researcher ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Discursive Formation ◽  
Heuristic Device

Purpose For the interested teacher, teacher educator and educational researcher seeking an entry point into how mindfulness relates to teachers’ work, the burgeoning and divergent appeals for the relevance of mindfulness to teachers can be bewildering. The purpose of this paper is to offer teachers, teacher educators and educational researchers a conceptual framework for understanding the different orientations and sources of mindfulness as it has been recommended to teachers. Design/methodology/approach Using Foucault’s (1972) concept of “discursive formations” as a heuristic device, this paper argues that mindfulness as pitched to teachers can be helpfully understood as arising from three distinct orientations. Findings Statements about mindfulness and its relevance to teachers emerge from three distinct discursive formations – traditional, psychological and engaged – that each constitute the “problem” faced by teachers respectively as suffering, stress or alienation. Specific conceptions of mindfulness are then advanced as a solution to these problems by certain authoritative subjects and institutions in ways that are taken as legitimate within each discursive formation. Originality/value Apart from offering a historical and discursive mapping of the different discursive formations from which mindfulness is pitched to teachers, this paper also highlights how each of these orientations impies a normative view of what a teacher should be. Suggestions for further historical research are also offered along the lines of genealogy, epistemology and ontology.

Equity and justice for all

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 331-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie Kinloch ◽  
Kerry Dixon
Keyword(s):  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Political Climate ◽  
Critical Whiteness Studies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Urban Teacher

Purpose This paper aims to examine the cultivation of anti-racist practices with pre- and in-service teachers in post-secondary contexts, and the tensions of engaging in this work for equity and justice in urban teacher education. Design/methodology/approach The paper relies on critical race theory (CRT) and critical whiteness studies (CWS), as well as auto-ethnographic and storytelling methods to examine how black in-service teachers working with a black teacher educator and white pre-service teachers working with a white teacher educator enacted strategies for cultivating anti-racist practices. Findings Findings indicate that for black and white educators alike, developing critical consciousness and anti-racist pedagogical practices requires naming racism as the central construct of oppression. Moreover, teachers and teacher educators demonstrated the importance of explicitly naming racism and centralizing (rather than de-centralizing) the political project of anti-racism within the current socio-political climate. Research limitations/implications In addition to racism, educators’ racialized identities must be centralized to support individual anti-racist pedagogical practices. Storying racism provides a context for this individualized work and provides a framework for disrupting master narratives embedded in educational institutions. Originality/value Much has been written about the importance of teachers connecting to students’ out-of-school lives to increase academic achievement and advance educational justice. Strategies for forging those connections include using assets-based practices and linking school curricula to students’ community and cultural identities. While these connections are important, this paper focuses on teachers’ explicit anti-racist practices in urban education.

scholarly journals Critical Self-Reflection as Disruption: A Black Feminist Self-Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-38
Author(s):  
Benikia Kressler
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Junior Faculty ◽  
Junior Faculty Member ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
White Middle Class ◽  
Self Study ◽  
Educators Of Color

As the PK-12 student population grows more diverse, the teaching population steadfastly continues to be white middle-class women (NCES, 2016). Critical teacher educators understand the importance of preparing pre-service teachers to become culturally responsive and sustaining (CR/S) practitioners by engaging in culturally relevant education (CRE). Critical teacher educators, particularly those of color from historically marginalized groups, can be important advocates in the struggle to strengthen the teaching candidate pool of CR/S practitioners. Building a cadre of teachers, who are poised to decolonize minds and spaces, sustains the work of many teacher educators of color. However, the acts of teaching and learning in most institutions of education are inundated with oppressive norms such as white privilege, xenophobia and anti-blackness. It is this reality in which I, a Black female junior teacher educator, attempt to disrupt normative teaching practices within a special education course. This self-study examined insight derived from a focus group as well as from my self-reflections conducted over the course of two semesters (Spring 2018 to Fall 2018). Using a qualitative methodological approach, the findings indicated tensions between my vulnerable position of being a junior faculty member and my desire to dismantle normative deficit practices through critical self-reflection.    

Preparing Globally Competent Educators Through Critically Engaging in Service-Learning

2021 ◽  
pp. 940-962
Author(s):  
Tonya Huber ◽  
Elizabeth R. Sanmiguel ◽  
Lorena P. Cestou ◽  
Mayra L. Hernandez
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Preparation Programs ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
International Service Learning ◽  
International Service ◽  
Theoretical Inquiry

As teacher-preparation programs educate and evaluate candidates to become globally competent instructional leaders, special attention should be given to international service-learning. Immersing teacher candidates in real-world experiences beyond their comfort zone is a cornerstone of this theoretical inquiry, including self-reflection strategies grounded on Paulo Freire's liberatory pedagogy for social justice. The research team reviews self- and cultural-awareness experiences, dispositions, and profiles of university teacher candidates, during a semester of curriculum studies affording opportunities to engage in local, local to global, and/or global/international service-learning. The discoveries will inform teacher educators as they develop and strengthen critical inquiry and service-learning components of their own courses.

Supporting Teacher Candidates as Social Justice Change-Makers

2021 ◽  
pp. 398-421
Author(s):  
Anne Homza ◽  
Tiffeni J. Fontno
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Children's Literature ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Critical Consciousness ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Children’S Literature ◽  
Shared Goal ◽  
Support Teacher ◽  
Future Work

Critical consciousness, teacher agency, intellectual freedom, and equity-informed practices are vital aspects of a collaboration between a faculty member and an educational librarian, whose shared goal is to support teacher candidates' capacity to use diverse children's literature to teach for social justice. In this chapter, teacher educator Homza and head librarian Fontno share ways to help teacher candidates use diverse children's literature to develop their own critical consciousness, explore issues of equity, and teach for social justice in their future classrooms. Grounding their work in conceptual frameworks, the authors discuss their positionalities, how the literature collection is built, and course activities that use diverse children's literature. Teacher candidates' reflections suggest that these efforts have an impact on their critical consciousness and capacity to engage in the challenging work of transformative pedagogy. The authors share implications for other teacher educators and librarians and questions to explore in future work.

Reimagining the Contextualization of a Rural Teacher Educator Preparation Program During COVID

2022 ◽  
pp. 175-194
Author(s):  
Chris Godwin ◽  
Courtney Glavich Mayakis ◽  
Terrie Hampton-Jones
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Effective Learning ◽  
Rural Settings ◽  
Training Quality ◽  
Educator Preparation Program ◽  
Problem Solve

Within the rural context of our nation, education has largely been overlooked or ignored within the research. The predominant educational research focuses more upon larger urban areas with a distinct context. Training quality teacher educators within the context of a worldwide pandemic dismisses many established and traditional methods. In order to prepare our teacher candidates within this new context, our EPP revaluated its current practices. Innovation in teacher preparation is clearly at hand and is well within our reach if we use the pandemic as a springboard to reimagine a teaching force equipped to face any challenge and problem-solve to create the most effective learning environment for the students they teach. It is possible and doable and can sustain our public education system in ways that we thought impossible prior to the pandemic. It pushes us out of the rut we find ourselves within. The chapter address strategies to support preservice teachers in rural settings.

Formative Assessment in a Teacher Education Course

2020 ◽  
pp. 71-88
Author(s):  
Kerryn Dixon
Keyword(s):  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Formative Assessment ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Literacy Teachers ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Support Students

Although many teachers are sympathetic to critical literacy's social justice agenda, they are often unsure about how to implement it in their classrooms. This is particularly so in contexts where increased accountability requires standardized forms of assessment. The challenge for teacher educators is to find ways to support student teachers and teachers who are new to critical literacy. The chapter focuses on how postgraduate students new to critical literacy learn to use this approach with young children. The chapter explicates the ways in which formative assessment is practiced as part of a critical pedagogy to support students' understandings of critical literacy, it describes how low-risk opportunities to put critical literacy into practice are provided, furthermore it considers the ways in which dialogue works to support inexperienced critical literacy teachers and finally examines the benefits of formative assessment practices within a critical pedagogy from a teacher educator perspective.

scholarly journals Re-imagining mentoring as a dynamic hub in the transformation of initial teacher education

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 248-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel M. Lofthouse
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
Initial Teacher Education ◽  
Experienced Teacher ◽  
Content Type ◽  
School Based

Purpose Teacher education in many countries is under reform with growing differences in its form and function. This is indicative of the ongoing negotiations around the place of theory, research and practice in teachers’ professional learning. However, the demand for mentoring of trainee teachers during often extended and multiple school-based placements is a relative constant. Indeed, with the trend towards greater school-based professional experience mentoring practices become ever more critical. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper written from the perspective of an experienced teacher educator in England, drawing on both practical experience and a body of associated research. It can be conceptualised as related to cases of practice, linked to episodes of practitioner research grounded in the ethics of the improvability of practice, the desire to meet the needs of the professional communities and a deep understanding of the demands and cultures of their workplaces. Findings Mentoring can be re-imagined as a dynamic hub within a practice development-led model for individual professional learning and institutional growth. Acting on this conceptualisation would allow mentors, trainees and other supporting teacher educators to contribute to the transformation of professional learning practices and educational contexts. Originality/value This paper goes beyond offering merely helpful guidance to participants and stakeholders in mentoring, or stipulating standards to be achieved, to considering what might be described as a hopeful or transformational stance in relation to mentoring. Teacher educators can continue to bring value to the transformation of teacher education through a focus on mentoring as an educative process.

scholarly journals TESL Teacher Educators' Professional Self-Development, Identity, and Agency

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-155
Author(s):  
Bedrettin Yazan
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Identity And Agency ◽  
Self Development ◽  
Writing Assignment ◽  
Professional Self ◽  
Langue Seconde

Using the concepts of identity and agency, this Perspectives article discusses my recent efforts of self-development when designing an identity-oriented Teaching English as a second language (TESL) teacher education course around teacher candidates’ semester-long autoethnography writing assignment called “critical autoethnographic narrative” (CAN). It specifically unpacks the ways I negotiated and enacted my identities of teacher educator and researcher of teacher education while I was incorporating identity as the main goal in teacher candidates’ learning. In closing, this article offers recommendations for TESL teacher educators who consider designing identity-oriented courses and suggests some future research directions. À l’aide des concepts de l’identité et de l’agentivité (ou capacité d’agir), cet article de Perspectives illustre mes récents efforts d’autoperfectionnement alors que je concevais un cours de formation d’enseignantes et enseignants d’anglais langue seconde axé sur l’identité, et ce, autour de l’imposition d’un projet d’écriture autoethnographique d’un semestre appelé « exposé autoethnographique critique » à des candidates et candidats à l’enseignement. L’article révèle spécifiquement la façon dont je suis parvenu à négocier et faire valoir mes identités de formateur d’enseignants et de chercheur en éducation d’enseignants alors que je faisais de l’identité le principal objectif de l’apprentissage des candidats et candidates à l’ enseignement. En terminant, cet article offre des recommandations à l’intention des formateurs d’enseignantes et enseignants d’anglais langue seconde qui songent à concevoir des cours axés sur l’identité, et ce, en plus de proposer des orientations futures en matière de recherche.

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