Preparing Equity- and Justice-Oriented Teacher Educators: A Linchpin for Transforming Teacher Education

• In Event: Elevating the Dialogue About Equity and Teacher Education: An Intergenerational Structured Dialogue

Abstract

Although it has become fashionable for teacher education programs to claim the mantle
of social justice, teacher education often fails to disrupt and arguably contributes to injustice and
opportunity gaps for minoritized students (Milner, 2008; Ohito, 2020; Souto-Manning, 2019).
For example, research suggests that white teachers who matriculate from preservice programs
typically “are not equipped to offer the racially/ethnically diverse students in schools a strong
and culturally responsive education” (Sleeter, 2017, p. 157). Meanwhile, teachers and teacher
candidates of color consistently report experiencing marginalization, silencing, and a lack of
belonging in teacher education (Brown, 2014; Haddix, 2012; Souto-Manning &; Emdin, 2020; Teachers of Color Collective & Souto-Manning, 2022). This chasm between teacher education’s aims and actions reflects the field’s “gross undertheorization” of race and racism (Milner, Pearman, &; McGee, 2013) as well as its “overwhelming presence of whiteness” (Sleeter, 2001). Notably, teacher education’s conservatism—its endurance over time with little
change—serves to maintain the status quo-perpetuating pedagogies and practices that sustain
these problems (Ellis &; McNicholl, 2015; Goodwin, et al, 2014). This paper, therefore, takes the position that it will take nothing short of transformation for teacher education to become genuinely anti-oppressive and capable of preparing equity- and justice-oriented teachers
(Picower, 2021).

Given the transformational potential of their pedagogical work (Ellis &; McNicholl,
2015), this conceptual paper argues that highly qualified, equity- and justice-oriented teacher
educators may be the linchpins for inciting the transformation the field needs (Cochran-Smith,
2003; Hollins, Luna &; Lopez, 2014; Authors, 2020; Authors, 2019). Yet, professional pathways that aim to cultivate teacher educator quality remain rare. Most doctoral programs privilege research training and treat teacher education as intuitive work that can be learned “on the job,” despite well-established understandings that the transition from teacher to teacher educator is not automatic or natural (Murray &; Male, 2005). As a result, teacher educators rarely access learning experiences that facilitate the “shift in underlying values and rationalities as well as concrete labour practices” (Ellis, 2018) needed to refashion teacher education’s architecture.

In response to this problem, this paper aims to advance the field’s thinking about a
different approach to doctoral education—one designed to equip equity- and justice-oriented
teacher educators for transformative possibilities. Drawing from complementary theories of
learning—Cultural Historical Activity Theory (Vygotsky, 1978) and Critical Pedagogy (Freire,
1970)—and research on equity- and justice-oriented teaching, teacher education, and teacher
educator learning, the paper proposes a doctoral curriculum with three overarching components
that can be recontextualized across settings: 1) Teacher Educating for Equity and Justice, 2)
Equity- and Justice-oriented Doctoral Coursework, and 3) Critical Inquiry Communities.
Throughout, recommendations reflect the assumption that a neutral approach to teacher educator
development, while still a better option than no formal preparation, falls short of addressing the
field’s most urgent needs, and that transforming the field requires learning experiences organized
for that purpose.

Author

• Jamy Stillman, University of Colorado - Boulder
  Presenting Author