Building a Networked Improvement Community on Racial Equity in Teacher Education

• In Event: No More "Justice Lip Service": An Improvement Science Approach to Racial Equity in Teacher Education

Abstract

While there is considerable research to document the pervasive whiteness in the teaching profession and the demographic imperative for increasing the number of teachers of Color, there have been relatively few systematic investigations of the racial equity climate in teacher education programs and the extent to which these programs prepare candidates to practice racial equity and social justice in their classrooms. This paper provides background information on how three university-based teacher education programs came together to form a network improvement community (NIC) to prioritize and make real their expressed commitments to racial equity in the preparation of teachers.

Regardless of race, P-12 teachers in the U.S. are often ill-prepared to empathize and form healthy relationships with Students of Color (Nelson, 2016; Warren, 2018) or engage in pedagogical practices geared toward racial justice (Kohli & Pizarro, 2016). The three universities seeking to confront the stark reality of racial equity climates in their teacher education programs embarked on a collective journey of self-evaluation for the purpose of positioning themselves for decisive action. Scholars have recommended the development of a NIC for addressing societal issues of this scale (Bryk, Gomez, & Grunow, 2011).

This paper will discuss the unique circumstances and environmental factors that drove three universities to use multiple strands of research to investigate the racial equity climate in their teacher education programs and use the findings to strengthen them. Presenters will share the successes and lessons learned from working individually and collaboratively to collect and analyze data from a range of sources and using improvement science to 1) design and implement professional learning opportunities and curricula that embed a lens of racial equity into all components of teacher education; 2) develop and pilot test exit survey items and measures to assess the level to which teacher candidates are exposed to the concepts of racial equity and social justice and their sense of feeling prepared to apply them to establish racially just learning environments; 3) develop and pilot test a new survey to assess candidates’ perceptions of the racial equity climate within their teacher education programs; and 4) develop and pilot test a new survey to assess faculty commitment to and capacity for racial equity instruction and engagement within their respective teacher education programs.

Topics specifically addressed in this paper speak to teacher education faculty diversity, clinical/field work for preservice teachers, and the avoidance of race frameworks and meaningful program integration.

Authors

• Terry Kyle Flennaugh, Michigan State University

• Tonya Bartell, Michigan State University