White Mentor Teacher Learning About Equity and Social Justice Through Sustained Professional Development

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 5
  In Roundtable Session: White Teachers Learning About Equity and Antiracist Practice (Table 7)

Abstract

Preparing teachers to provide an equitable and socially just education is a focus of many teacher preparation programs across the country. Yet little attention has been given to the role of mentor teachers—the people who student teachers identify as most influential in their learning to teach (Clarke, Triggs, & Nielsen, 2014; Feiman-Nemser, 2001)—in this work. This study examines White mentor teachers’ shifts in thinking and actions through a particular professional learning opportunity—a Mentor Study Group that focused on mentoring for equity and social justice. Findings demonstrate both the necessity of this work and a path forward for doing this work in the context of a teacher preparation program.

Authors

• Amy R. Guenther, Saginaw Valley State University

• Lindsay J. Wexler, North Central College