Session Information
10 SES 02 E, Teacher Educators for Just and Equitable Education: Learning from research across three continents
Symposium
Contribution
This symposium brings together teacher educators from Australia, Canada, and the U.S. who are investigating: What should teacher educators know and be able to do before they are equipped to prepare quality teachers in/for a world characterized by increasing diversity, economic disparity and inequities, and intolerance? Their stories from around the globe will serve to ignite a cross-national discussion among session participants about the disciplined and diverse scholarship necessary to drive the rigorous research, quality programs and relevant curriculum needed to ensure that those who teach teachers are themselves prepared as social justice educators.
A pressing issue for public education, whether in Europe, the U.S., or around the world, is the achievement gap that exists between economically advantaged students who are “majority” group members, and those marginalized by institutionalized racism, national status, contemporary colonization, and systemic inequities (Field, Kuczera, & Pont, 2007; OECD, 2012). In 2015, over a million migrants to the European Union, Norway and Sweden were refugees escaping war, including thousands of unaccompanied minors (Pew Research Center, 2016), while census figures indicate there are approximately 40 million “foreign born” in the U.S. (Greico et al., 2012). Given the reality of “the new collective majority of minority children” in public schools on an international scale (Maxwell, 2014, para. 3), many classrooms are witnessing an intense concentration of newcomer and diverse students, resulting in increasing calls for teachers and teacher educators to receive preparation to help them be more responsive to changing social conditions and student populations (European Commission, 2013b; OECD, 2016, 2010; Public Policy & Management Institute, 2017). The struggle to educate all is ongoing, with teachers perceived as critical to fulfilling the promise of equal educational opportunity and inclusive societies (Van Zanten, 2005; Hollins & Guzman, 2005). An equally pressing concern that is gaining international traction, focuses on those who educate teachers—in what ways are/should teacher educators (be) prepared to undertake the critical task of developing teachers for equitable and socially just schooling?
Given teacher quality as a clear global priority, it seems reasonable to assume that quality teacher preparation depends on quality teacher educators. Still, amidst numerous opinions about teacher quality, there is silence about the preparation of teacher educators (Kosnik & Beck, 2008; Loughran & Berry, 2005; Margolin, 2011; Smith; 2005), and even less said about teacher educators’ “pedagogical knowledge for equity…including knowledge of ways…to teach, or guide new teachers in promoting equitable learning” (Achinstein & Athanases, 2005, p. 252). Teacher educators cannot teach what they do not know, yet research has shown that “Teacher education coursework emerged as profoundly influential in preparing teachers to advocate for equity” (Athanases & Martin, 2006, 856). Understanding what teacher educators need to know in order to be able to profoundly influence new equity-minded teachers becomes an essential research imperative for educators to collaboratively tackle, within and across nations.
Using the questions below as a common frame, each author will present a study that highlights critical and mutually perplexing issues for teacher education/educators, from the perspective of their unique national context:
1) What critical educational equity issue must teachers—and therefore teacher educators—need to be prepared to understand and address?
2) In what ways does/can research illuminate this issue?
3) What should be new directions for collective and inter/national research, programs or actions?
Through international comparison, these papers will identify fruitful lines of inquiry and highlight promising findings that can inspire potential collaborative investigations and projects across (inter)national contexts in order to support deeper understanding of and change within the teacher education/educator profession.
References
Achinstein, B., & Athanases, S.Z. (2005). Focusing new teachers on diversity and equity: Toward a knowledge base for mentors. Teaching and Teacher Education, 21, 843-862. Athanases, S. Z., & Martin, K. J. (2006). Learning to advocate for educational equity in a teacher credential program. Teaching and Teacher Education, 22(6), 627-646. Field S., Kuczera, M., & Pont, B. (2007). No More Failures: Ten Steps to Equity in Education. Paris: OECD. Kosnik, C., & Beck, C. (2008). In the shadows: non-tenure-line instructors in pre-service teacher education. European Journal of Teacher Education, 31(2), 185-202. Loughran, J., & Berry, A. (2005). Modelling by teacher educators. Teaching and Teacher Education, 21, 193-203. Margolin, I. (2011). Professional development of teacher educators through a “transitional space”: A surprising outcome of a teacher education program. Teacher Education Quarterly, 38(3), 7-25. OECD. (2012). Equity and Quality in Education: Supporting Disadvantaged Students and Schools. Paris: Author. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264130852-en Smith, K. (2005). Teacher educators’ expertise: What do novice teachers and teacher educators say? Teaching and Teacher Education, 21, 177-192. Van Zanten, A. (2005). New Modes of Reproducing Social Inequality in Education: the changing role of parents, teachers, schools and educational policies. European Education Research Journal, 4(3), 155 - 169.
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