Challenging Deficit Thinking in Our Schools

Deficit thinking by educators is a barrier to student success. To effectively meet the needs of all students, future teachers need to be able to identify and challenge deficit thinking when they encounter it. Educator preparation programs are well positioned to assist with the rejection of deficit thinking in favor of strengths-based approaches in the classroom through intentionally designed courses and required field experiences. This chapter explores deficit thinking in special education, highlights components of teacher training that have been demonstrated to address issues of equity and combat deficit thinking, and shares one education department's efforts to ensure deficit thinking is adequately addressed in their coursework and fieldwork. Other educator preparation programs may benefit from the exploration of inclusive and equity-focused program components, as well as the auditing process conducted by this education department.

Technology in Education, Win or Fail?

Educator preparation programs and institutional polices should provide background knowledge and experience with digital literacies and emerging technologies in coursework and strategies. The emphasis on the integration of technology instruction is relevant in the literature today. This chapter will explore the intersections and disjunctures between digital literacy practices in an educator preparation program and personal digital literacy use from a recent study that examined the digital literacies of six teacher educators. The chapter will be organized into sections, examining technology tools, digital interactions, and online resources applied classrooms.

The Role of Educator Preparation Programs in Fostering Partnerships With Schools in Supporting English Language Learners, Immigrant Families, and Special Education

Teacher educator preparation programs play a central role in preparing teachers and practitioners who work with children with exceptionalities, immigrants, and English language learners (ELL), among others. Research indicates that immigrants, ELL, and children with exceptionalities benefit from effective family-professional partnerships in several ways. Family-professional relationships are also key in producing positive educational outcomes for vulnerable and children who are at-risk. The following layers of partnerships and relationships are discussed: university-based educator preparation programs (EPPs) and K-12 schools; immigrant families and K-12 schools; and teachers/caregivers in K-12 schools and immigrant children/ELL, including children with exceptionalities. The benefits of positive partnerships and relationships are discussed. These include positive educational outcomes for children and their families, positive outcomes for children's school readiness, enhanced quality of life for families and their children, family engagement in children's programs, strengthening of home-school program connection, and trust-building for all stakeholders.

Critical Reading, Critical Literacy, and Critical Classrooms

Critical reading and critical literacy are skills that preservice teachers need to cultivate not only in their future students, but also in their own literacy practices. Picturebooks have the unique power to facilitate critical reading and critical literacy with preservice teachers. This chapter analyzes critical reading, critical literacy, and the power of picturebooks and then presents three approaches for using picturebooks to develop critical reading and critical literacy skills with preservice teachers: (1) field-based coursework with multicultural children's literature, (2) analyzing voices and perspectives in read-alouds, and (3) analyzing wordless picturebooks. Through intentional use of picturebooks in educator preparation programs, preservice teachers can gain the expertise necessary to use picturebooks to craft their own critical classrooms.

Staying Connected-Rooting Literacy Courses in Current Topics and Relevant Teaching Practices

There is often a disconnect between what students learn in a university setting and what they will experience as in-service teachers. Literacy is commonly seen as the heart of all knowledge and is usually the core of educator preparation programs. This chapter describes several strategies and tools which education preparation programs can use to keep their literacy course content connected to current issues and instructional trends. The contents of this chapter will be rooted in relevance and engagement as well as provide ways to enhance instruction and prepare preservice educators for the future of literacy instruction.

What's Training Got to Do With It?

With the current, pervasive mindset in schools of deficit thinking, which affects students of all ages and abilities, educator preparation programs have an opportunity to make a change. This chapter will explore educator preparation programs and what is being taught in introductory courses on special education, as well as mindset leading to deficit thinking. An exploratory survey of university instructors was conducted to discover what could lead to deficit thinking in preschool to Grade 12 (P-12) schools. Findings show that instructors are using supplemental materials to cover models of disability, and further study of how instructor mindset influences course content is warranted. Discussion will include adding growth mindset, self-efficacy strategies, and unconscious bias training in educator preparation programs to further challenge deficit thinking. Additional areas for future research will also be discussed.

Digital practice spaces and clinical practice in teacher preparation: Current uses and future possibilities

This paper explores how the use of digital practice spaces (DPSs) can inform teacher preparation through a reimagining of clinical practice in teacher preparation by addressing the question: what roles might DPSs play in the ecology of apprenticeship opportunities for future educators? We leveraged AACTE’s Essential Proclamations and Tenets for Highly Effective Clinical Educator Preparation as an analytical framework to examine our own experiences using DPSs in our teacher education coursework. We discuss the alignment between these proclamations and the theoretical, conceptual, and practical underpinnings of DPSs. Finally, we consider the remaining proclamations that represent the horizons of DPSs within teacher preparation, a task we undertook as a set of informed provocations, envisioning how DPSs could be designed to support the proclamations not currently supported.

An Exploration of the Preparation of New Zealand Nurse Educators for their Role in Teaching Postgraduate Clinical Nursing Courses

<p>Little is known about the preparation of New Zealand nurse educators teaching clinically focused postgraduate programmes. This research gives an insight into their world and the preparation they had in order to fulfil their roles. A review of the literature on nurse educator preparation revealed a dichotomy of preparation nationally and internationally. This study was carried out to inform the New Zealand nursing profession on the preparedness of its educators teaching clinical nursing postgraduate programmes. It was my assumption that nurse educator preparation lacked strategic direction and was not nationally uniform. The research expected to answer how and to what extent New Zealand nurse educators teaching clinical nursing postgraduate courses at NQF Level 8 are prepared and supported for their teaching role. This research used an exploratory descriptive survey methodology and was underpinned by a conceptual framework. The conceptual framework, referred to as the critical elements of nurse educator preparation (CENEP), contained four key concepts, support, educational preparation, personal attitudes and experience. These concepts informed the design and construct of a questionnaire to determine the level of preparation of New Zealand nurse educators teaching clinical postgraduate programmes. A total of 89 postal questionnaires were administered resulting in a response rate of 46% (N=41), however, four questionnaires were excluded leaving a sample size of 37. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 12) was used to analyse the data, and descriptive statistics along with non-parametric testing was undertaken. There were three open-ended questions included in the questionnaire and these were analysed thematically. Results of this research reveal a culture where nurse educator preparation lacks uniformity and consistency. Individually, New Zealand nurse educators were found to be highly qualified for their positions and motivated and enthusiastic about their roles. However, 40% of respondents did not hold a teaching qualification. Results from this research revealed a pattern of clinical training for postgraduate nurses that was immersed in the world of the academic institution. This research study is limited and cannot be generalised to the entire population of nurse educators teaching clinical postgraduate programmes. However, some valuable insights have been gained into a previously unexplored area, and recommendations have been made for the future direction of preparation for nurse educators teaching clinical postgraduate programmes in New Zealand.</p>

An Exploration of the Preparation of New Zealand Nurse Educators for their Role in Teaching Postgraduate Clinical Nursing Courses

<p>Little is known about the preparation of New Zealand nurse educators teaching clinically focused postgraduate programmes. This research gives an insight into their world and the preparation they had in order to fulfil their roles. A review of the literature on nurse educator preparation revealed a dichotomy of preparation nationally and internationally. This study was carried out to inform the New Zealand nursing profession on the preparedness of its educators teaching clinical nursing postgraduate programmes. It was my assumption that nurse educator preparation lacked strategic direction and was not nationally uniform. The research expected to answer how and to what extent New Zealand nurse educators teaching clinical nursing postgraduate courses at NQF Level 8 are prepared and supported for their teaching role. This research used an exploratory descriptive survey methodology and was underpinned by a conceptual framework. The conceptual framework, referred to as the critical elements of nurse educator preparation (CENEP), contained four key concepts, support, educational preparation, personal attitudes and experience. These concepts informed the design and construct of a questionnaire to determine the level of preparation of New Zealand nurse educators teaching clinical postgraduate programmes. A total of 89 postal questionnaires were administered resulting in a response rate of 46% (N=41), however, four questionnaires were excluded leaving a sample size of 37. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 12) was used to analyse the data, and descriptive statistics along with non-parametric testing was undertaken. There were three open-ended questions included in the questionnaire and these were analysed thematically. Results of this research reveal a culture where nurse educator preparation lacks uniformity and consistency. Individually, New Zealand nurse educators were found to be highly qualified for their positions and motivated and enthusiastic about their roles. However, 40% of respondents did not hold a teaching qualification. Results from this research revealed a pattern of clinical training for postgraduate nurses that was immersed in the world of the academic institution. This research study is limited and cannot be generalised to the entire population of nurse educators teaching clinical postgraduate programmes. However, some valuable insights have been gained into a previously unexplored area, and recommendations have been made for the future direction of preparation for nurse educators teaching clinical postgraduate programmes in New Zealand.</p>