The BC-LAMP Portfolio Project

• In Event: 43.016 - Forming Lives of Meaning and Purpose: A 21st Century Mission for Schools of Education?

Abstract

Objectives
In practice, “teaching for social justice” has meant having knowledge and skills to boost school students’ academic learning, but also enhancing their social and emotional development, critical thinking abilities, democratic skills and values, and general well being (Cochran-Smith, 2010). The purpose of this paper is to present an instrument developed by teacher education practitioners/researchers at Boston College and the University of Auckland, New Zealand. The scenario-based assessment measures complex teaching practice grounded in a theory of teaching that promotes equity and social justice—the Teacher Education for Equity Scale (TEES) (Chang, 2017).
Theoretical framework
Most definitions of what it means to prepare teachers to teach for social justice have in common explicit recognition of marked disparities in educational opportunities, resources, achievement, and long-term outcomes among minority and low-income pupil groups and their white, middle-class peers. Teaching for social justice in K-12 schools, therefore, has the bottom line of promoting pupils’ learning (academic, social, emotional, and civic) and enhancing pupils’ life chances, including challenging the structures, curriculum, labels, and school arrangements that limit or inhibit life chances.
Modes of inquiry
Teaching practice for equity was theorized as a unidimensional construct comprised of
six interconnected principles of practice for equity that function simultaneously to influence the enactment levels of teachers’ practice for equity. Based on five selected international syntheses we employed Rasch measurement principles and Guttman sentence mapping procedures to develop 15 scenario items to capture three hypothesized levels of enactment of practice (Ludlow, et al., 2014).
Participants reflect on their practice, compare it with that of an individual teacher in each scenario, and rate their own practice based on a five-point scale: (1) much lower; (2) slightly lower; (3) about the same; (4) slightly higher; and (5) much higher. Higher scores indicate higher levels of enactment of equity-centered practice. It is intended that scenarios representing higher levels of enactment would be harder (“more difficult”) for respondents to reply with slightly higher or much higher ratings.

Data sources
Ninety-seven participated in the study. The majority were White females representing pre-service and in-service teachers prepared by teacher education programs. They reported various years of teaching experience and taught different subject areas.

Conclusions
As intended, the lower level teaching practice for equity scenarios reflect a technical view of teaching: teaching is executing a set of strategies to transmit knowledge regardless of students’ life and learning experiences and teachers do not have the responsibility to advocate on behalf of students and challenge inequitable societal, school, and classroom practices. Moving up the scale, the higher level scenarios reflect a complex view of teaching: teaching requires critical self-reflection and connecting to students’ life and learning experiences, and teachers are agents of change.

Authors

• Larry H. Ludlow, Boston College

• Henry I. Braun, Boston College

• Theresa O'Keefe, Boston College

• Burton Howell, Boston College

• Ella Anghel, Boston College

• Olivia Szendey, Boston College