Social Justice-Oriented Teaching: An Instructor/Student Collaboration to Support Teacher Candidates of Color

• In Event: Centering Teachers of Color

Abstract

In this paper, a white instructor of a course on social justice-oriented teacher practices and an undergraduate student of color who experienced the course, collaborated to make improvements for teacher candidates of color. The goal of this collaboration was to amplify student voices in more meaningful ways than can happen in typical course evaluation. This collaboration developed through relationship, established between student and instructor, which began during the coursework and continued to an independent study, which led to this paper. Through this relational work, the voices of multiple students were included, and substantive recommendations were made in relation to how to improve the experiences of teacher candidates of color in coursework related to social justice-oriented teaching practices.

Authors

• Colleen Clements, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

• Demaris Johnson, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities