Decentralization, teacher quality, and the education of English learners: Do state education agencies effectively prepare teachers of Els?

English learners are entitled to participate meaningfully and equally in educational programs. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) includes provisions to ensure success for all students, including English learners. However, the federal government does not prescribe specifically how states should meet these provisions; instead, it is the responsibility of states to develop respective plans of action. This decentralization means that states play a primary role in setting policy for teacher credentialing. In this paper, we address the following question: Do state education agencies effectively prepare teachers of ELs? We reviewed the teacher credentialing requirements to teach classified English learners in bilingual education, English language development, and sheltered English immersion settings, as well as the professional teaching standards for reference to culturally and linguistically diverse learners across the 50 states and the District of Columbia. We found inconsistencies across the US with regard to the education of classified English learners and document wide variation in teacher certification for working with English learners. We highlight implications for policy and teacher preparation.

Theory-Practice Divides and the Persistent Challenges of Embedding Tools for Social Justice in a STEM Urban Teacher Residency Program

This study examined how the concept of social justice was operationalized in the university coursework of students enrolled in an urban teacher residency program that aims to diversify the teaching corps and prepare secondary STEM teachers for urban classroom environments. Based on analysis of 39 syllabi and interviews with nine faculty members, we found that challenges in embedding social justice theory with STEM content knowledge were attributable to the lack of a shared definition among program faculty, and external pressures imposed by state teacher credentialing requirements. We conclude with recommendations for practice by suggesting ways that rigorous STEM content knowledge can be combined with locally and historically contextualized social critique and tools for change in order to support teachers in enacting justice-oriented practice in communities.

Are teacher-credentialing programs providing enough training in multiculturalism for pre-service teachers?

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore how multicultural curriculum and instruction in a teacher-credentialing program prepared pre-service teachers to work with diverse students. Design/methodology/approach The research method used was a qualitative approach. The research design was a descriptive single embedded case study to interview pre-service teachers who were in their second semester in a teacher-credentialing program at a university on the west coast and pre-service teachers who were in their final semester in the same teacher-credentialing program. Pre-service teachers discussed their disappointment in the program for their lack of training in how to work with culturally diverse students. Findings The findings from the study will add to the body of knowledge specific to teacher-credentialing programs, curriculum developers and universal design for learning on K-12 education. Research limitations/implications As schools become more diverse, an important role of teacher-credentialing courses is to train future teachers with the knowledge to assist culturally diverse students. If teachers were multicultural teachers, they would be better prepared to instruct culturally diverse students and could acknowledge sociocultural resources and information that students bring to the classroom. Originality/value The study is essential because training teachers to instruct culturally diverse students is critical as student demographics become more diverse.

Practicing Justice, Justifying Practice: Toward Critical Practice Teacher Education

Arguments for social justice teacher education and arguments for practice-based teacher education are often seen as incongruous. Drawing on sociocultural theory and theories of justice, our study interrogates this underresearched assumption. We conducted video analyses of teacher education coursework and novice teachers’ K–6 classroom instruction, together with novices’ written reflections on videos. Data were collected during a university-based, accelerated teacher credentialing program. Analyses of videos of teacher education coursework revealed that while teacher educators frequently represented, decomposed, and approximated teaching practice, they rarely did so when discussing social justice issues. In a mirror-image finding, analyses of videos of (and reflections on) novices’ subsequent K–6 teaching revealed that novices rarely identified instructional decisions during which they attended to social justice issues.

Modern Ashtanga Yoga

Chapter 4 chronicles the development of modern Ashtanga yoga by the Indian Hindu Shri Krishna Pattabhi Jois (1915–2009) for the purpose of becoming “one with God.” Ashtanga pursues its spiritual goal through physical postures, āsanas, opening with Sūrya Namaskāra (Sun Salutations), defined by Jois as “prayer to the sun god,” and closing with Padmāsana (Lotus) and Savāsana (Rest/Corpse), to facilitate meditation and enlightenment. Postures incorporate symbolic gestures, añjali mudra (prayer) and jñāna mudra (wisdom), not only to express but also to instill devotion. Ashtanga exemplifies an experiential model of religion in which practitioners envision physical practices as transforming beliefs and achieving spiritual goals. Ashtanga arrived in the U.S. in 1975 in Encinitas, California, and attracted wealthy devotees, among them Sonia Jones, who created Jois Yoga and the Jois Foundation (K. P. Jois USA Foundation) in 2011. The Foundation’s “mission” is to bring the “philosophy, teachings and values of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois to “youths in underserved communities” and “support changes in public policy” to make yoga and meditation “essential,” even “compulsory,” in teacher credentialing and school curricula. The chapter argues that teaching Ashtanga yoga in public schools raises constitutional questions because Ashtanga exhibits the Malnak-Meyers indicia of religion.

Traditional Versus Alternative Pathways to Certification: Assessing Differences in Music Teacher Self-Efficacy

Teacher-credentialing policy debates often center on questions of whether traditional or alternative pathways to teacher certification better position future teachers for success. Given the growing number of teachers entering the profession via alternative pathways, we sought to compare the self-efficacy of alternatively and traditionally certified music teachers using a sample from Texas ( n = 143). Our findings indicated that traditionally and alternatively certified music teachers reported comparable levels of self-efficacy. We also found that, regardless of certification pathway, teachers with 10 or fewer years of experience reported lower self-efficacy than teachers with 11 or more years of experience. We conclude that alternative pathways to certification may offer a viable entry point into the profession and may be particularly advantageous in diversifying the teacher pool and addressing areas of music teacher shortages. We also offer recommendations for cultivating high self-efficacy in preservice teachers, irrespective of certification pathway, as well as avenues for future study of the alternative pathway.