An Exploration of Exemplar Educators in Diverse and Urban Schools

• In Event: 32.084 - Poster Session 6
  In Poster Session: 32.084-7 - Professional Development for Success in Urban Schools

Abstract

This paper presentation includes an overview of an ongoing broad narrative research project into the professional development of exemplar teachers for socially just work in urban and diverse schools. In this paper presentation we examine how educational leaders in one urban school district and the surrounding community identify and define exemplar teachers for social justice and how they story identified exemplar teachers’ practices as exemplary. Through discussion of our educational leader participants’ responses on surveys and interviews, we highlight central educational leaders’ experiential stories of their understanding of and perspectives on exemplary socially just teaching and exemplar socially just teachers. We further consider social justice in educational research that is focused on supporting diverse democracies.

Authors

• Omiunota N. Ukpokodu, University of Missouri - Kansas City

• Candace M. Schlein, University of Missouri - Kansas City

• Jennifer H. Waddell, University of Missouri - Kansas City