The Role of Teacher Educators’ Personal Histories and Motivations in Shaping Opportunities to Learn about Social Justice

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (7) ◽  
pp. 1-34
Author(s):  
Mike Metz
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Opportunities To Learn ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Audio Recordings ◽  
Personal Histories ◽  
The Impact

Background As social-justice-focused teacher education programs continue to gain prominence, a wealth of research explores approaches for preparing teachers for social-justice-minded teaching. This study looks closely at a key aspect of teacher education programs frequently absent from the research—the teacher educators (TEs) themselves. Focus of Study The study intentionally expands the consideration of TEs’ identities beyond reductive demographic characteristics to explore how the personal histories and motivations of TEs impact teacher candidates’ (TCs’) opportunities to learn about teaching for social justice. Setting and Participants The study follows two parallel sections of a single teacher education course taught by two different TEs. Because the TEs taught from the same syllabus, within the context of the same program, the impact of each TE's instructional choices is revealed. Research Design Using a comparative case study design, data sources included field notes, audio recordings of class meetings, course readings and materials, and two interviews with each TE. Audio recordings were transcribed and analyzed following a micro-ethnographic discourse analysis approach. The second interview took place after initial analysis of the data, allowing the TEs to respond to initial findings. Findings Although both TEs focused on social justice topics, in alignment with the program goals, their choices of what topics to focus on differed greatly. One TE used the course readings to open up discussions of gender and sexuality, critically examining heteronormative ideals and a dismissive attitude toward adolescent relationships and sexuality. The other TE used the same readings and assignments to create inquiry into complicated issues of racial and ethnic identity with implications for classroom teaching. In each case, the choices by the TEs in how they framed discussions and assignments and what ideas they took up and built on during class interactions shaped the curriculum in unique ways. These instructional choices corresponded to each TE's own personal experiences and motivations. Conclusions The findings suggest that research on teacher education programs must look beyond course syllabi or the structural components of a program to understand the opportunities to learn provided to TCs. Decisions by TEs during classroom instruction shape very different opportunities to learn. These decisions are based, at least partially, on TEs’ unique personal histories and motivations. When considering how teacher education programs address the issue of social justice, a TE's own history and motivations will impact the enacted curriculum as much as, if not more than, the written curriculum. As we continue to wrestle with how to prepare teachers for a diverse and inequitable society, teacher education programs and teacher education research would benefit from more nuanced consideration of the role TEs play in what gets taught in teacher preparation courses.

From salvation to inquiry: Preservice teachers’ conceptions of race

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 368-384
Author(s):  
Lucinda Grace Heimer
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Future Teacher ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
The Impact

Race is a marker hiding more complex narratives. Children identify the social cues that continue to segregate based on race, yet too often teachers fail to provide support for making sense of these worlds. Current critical scholarship highlights the importance of addressing issues of race, culture, and social justice with future teachers. The timing of this work is urgent as health, social and civil unrest due to systemic racism in the U.S. raise critiques and also open possibilities to reimagine early childhood education. Classroom teachers feel pressure to standardize pedagogy and outcomes yet meet myriad student needs and talents in complex settings. This study builds on the current literature as it uses one case study to explore institutional messages and student perceptions in a future teacher education program that centers race, culture, identity, and social justice. Teaching as a caring profession is explored to illuminate the impact authentic, aesthetic, and rhetorical care may have in classrooms. Using key tenets of Critical Race Theory as an analytical tool enhanced the case study process by focusing the inquiry on identity within a racist society. Four themes are highlighted related to institutional values, rigorous coursework, white privilege, and connecting individual racial and cultural understanding with classroom practice. With consideration of ethical relationality, teacher education programs begin to address the impact of racist histories. This work calls for individualized critical inquiry regarding future teacher understanding of “self” in new contexts as well as an investigation of how teacher education programs fit into larger institutional philosophies.

Unlocking the Doors

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Mary Kelly ◽  
Christina Wright Fields
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Doors

This chapter will explore how teacher educators support and create social justice-infused spaces with their respective programs. The authors explain how they re-centered equity and diversity by reframing and repositioning culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP) in teacher education programs. A possible programmatic approach is shared to explain the different phases of integrating a culturally sustaining pedagogy, referred to as CSP+, with attention to intersectional subjectivities and a privileging of both ability and gender within equity frameworks. Alongside practical activities, and a step-by-step guide towards re-designing for CSP+, the authors consider both where and how to begin reconceptualizing teacher education towards justice, arguing for a department-wide approach.

Moving toward: using a social justice curriculum to impact teacher candidates

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 320-337
Author(s):  
Megan Adams ◽  
Sanjuana Rodriguez
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Social Justice Education ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Social Justice Curriculum

Purpose Public schools are spaces where capital-T transformation in teachers is needed (Guillory, 2012). To shift schools to places where all communities are valued, teacher education programs must create spaces where shifts in beliefs and practice can occur. This study aims to describe how the use of a social justice curriculum framework impacted teacher candidates by creating such a space. Design/methodology/approach This is an ethnographic study. Qualitative ethnography is appropriate when “the study of a group provides an understanding of a larger issue” (Creswell, 2015, p. 466). In this case, studying the impact of a social justice framework on the children and teacher candidates in the program allows the researchers to capture the relationships developed during the course of the program and study. Findings The framework created valuable experiences for both teacher candidates and elementary age participants. Data were collected to determine the impact of the program on all participants. The authors discuss implications for practitioners planning a social justice curriculum and for teacher educators planning field experiences for teacher candidates. Research limitations/implications The need for shifting beyond culturally relevant pedagogy has been well documented in the field (Cho, 2017; Guillory, 2012; Paris, 2012). Moving toward – culturally sustaining pedagogy, multicultural social justice curriculum, critically conscious teachers – must be a priority in teacher education (Banks, 2013; Convertino, 2016). This has been explored in other studies, particularly in studies of merging – or emphasizing – multicultural and social justice education and curricula (Cho, 2017; Lawyer, 2018; Sleeter, 2018). What sets this study apart, and what needs further exploration diverse, is how to set up multicultural social justice education projects involving culturally and economically teacher education candidates and students working together (Cammarota, 2016; Lawyer, 2018; Valenzuela, 2016). Originality/value The questions that arise from this study make it new in the field. These include how to set up these diverse field experiences, including how to increase recruitment and retention of culturally and economically marginalized students in teacher education programs (Cammarota, 2016; Castaneda, Kambutu and Rios, 2006). These are important questions to consider in designing research and recruitment projects in colleges of teacher education. Exploring how to push multicultural education into multicultural social justice education deserves additional attention and exploration (Cammarota, 2016; Lawyer, 2018; Sleeter, 2018; Valenzuela, 2016).

scholarly journals “That’s Much Easier Said than Done”: The Realities of Social Justice Pedagogy in Schools

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brittany A. Aronson
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Intern Teachers ◽  
K 12 ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Critical Social

<p><em>Teaching for critical social justice is an attempt by classroom teachers to promote equity within their classrooms. Researchers have analyzed the impact of preservice teachers’ readiness to address social justice issues in their classrooms upon exiting their teacher education programs. However, despite reports of already practicing K-12 teachers’ attempts to teach for social justice in their classrooms, there is little connection to teacher education programs. This postcritical qualitative study addresses the research gap by highlighting the understandings and experiences of four intern teachers simultaneously enrolled in a teacher education program while participating in a critical social justice focus group. Findings from the critical social justice focus group revealed intern teachers’ understandings of critical social justice included: (1) embracing a critical awareness, (2) advocacy: “it’s about the students”, and (3) praxis defeat.</em></p>

scholarly journals Client Analysis in Teacher Education: What Some Canadian and South African Teachers Identify as their Professional Development Needs

2001 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Epstein
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Teacher Education ◽  
South African ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Professional Development Needs ◽  
Teachers Professional Development

The client analysis conducted in this study explores the professional development needs of11 language teachers, five in South Africa and six in Canada. The study employs a questionnaire and interviews to discover how each teacher's background and context affects his or her perceived professional development needs. Interviews show that teacher educators cannot necessarily predict teachers' professional development needs based on their backgrounds and contexts alone. A variety of inputs from recipients over an extended time is desirable and would yield more accurate predictability of an individual's professional development needs. This would result in teacher education programs that more accurately meet a teacher's real needs.

Teaching Diversity to Preservice Teachers: Encouraging Self-Reflection and Awareness to Develop Successful Teaching Practices

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marla S. Sanders ◽  
Kathryn Haselden ◽  
Randi M. Moss
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Culturally Diverse ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Diverse Schools

AbstractThe purpose of this article is to promote discussion of how teacher education programs can better prepare teacher candidates to teach for social justice in ethnically and culturally diverse schools. The authors suggest that teacher education programs must develop teacher candidates’ capacity to teach for social justice through preparation programs that encourage critical reflection and awareness of one’s beliefs, perceptions, and professional practice. The authors ask the following questions: How can teacher educators provide structures in professional preparation programs that will produce reflective practitioners? How might we prepare teacher candidates who are constantly thinking about how they perceive their students and their families and how those perceptions affect the way they relate to students? Through a discussion of five case scenarios, the authors discuss prior research on preparing teachers for culturally diverse schools and offer suggestions for improving professional education programs.

A University-Community Partnership in Teacher Education From the Perspectives of Community-Based Teacher Educators

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorena Guillen ◽  
Ken Zeichner
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Research University ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Community Based ◽  
The Pacific

This article examines the experiences of a group of nine community-based mentors of teacher candidates who partnered for several years through a local, community-based organization with the graduate elementary and secondary teacher education programs at a research university in the Pacific Northwest. Following a brief discussion of the history of partnerships between teacher education programs and local communities, we report the findings of a study of the perspectives of these community mentors on their work with teacher candidates and university teacher educators.

Developing Critical Dispositions in Teacher Education Programs

2019 ◽  
pp. 106-124
Author(s):  
Jarrett D. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Preparation Programs ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
American Education ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
Purpose Of Education

This chapter advocates for the (re)framing of critical thinking from a skill to a disposition and proposes a framework whereby teacher education programs can create space for pre-service teachers to develop a critical disposition. By studying the context of American education and schooling and their corporate interest, pre-service teachers along with teacher educators can start to unravel the discourse and power inherent in American education. Understanding how these concepts lead to hegemony can begin the process of creating a counterhegemonic movement among American educators that includes the reclaiming of the purpose of education, raising pertinent epistemological question, and practicing critical self-reflection. The final part of the new framework for developing critical dispositions is a reintroduction of broader theoretical concerns into teacher preparation programs.

Peer Assessment for Development of Preservice Teachers

2011 ◽  
pp. 263-280
Author(s):  
Lorraine Gilpin ◽  
Yasar Bodur ◽  
Kathleen Crawford
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Peer Assessment ◽  
Classroom Teaching ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Peer Observation ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Scholarship Of Teaching ◽  
The Impact

Peer assessment holds tremendous potential to positively impact the development of preservice teachers. The purpose of this chapter is to describe our findings on the impact of different forms of peer observation and feedback on preservice teachers’ skills in analyzing classroom teaching and their perceptions of their experience with peer assessment. In addition to reporting our findings, we draw from the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning literature to present peer assessment as a medium to overcome structured isolation that is present in the practice of teaching. According to our study, peer observation and feedback is beneficial to preservice teachers’ learning. However, to maximize its effectiveness, a culture of peer assessment should be established in teacher education programs.

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