Designing a Professional Development Program Promoting Teacher Educators’ Actions for Education That Serves All Students

• In Event: Inclusive Education: Outcomes, Challenges, and the Perspective of Students and Educators

Abstract

This paper presents a qualitative study of a professional development program (PDP) designed to promote teacher educators' practices contributing to inclusion, equity, and social justice. The PDP was designed based on a conceptual framework of diversity-responsive practices and evidence-informed design principles from the literature on teacher educator PDPs. Three phases were distinguished: an immersive two-day program, individual experimentation with monthly peer-coaching sessions, and a reflective closing moment. The findings suggest that the PDP was effective in increasing teacher educators' awareness of diversity-responsive practices and their confidence to set up actions to reduce inequalities. However, the study also found that more time and resources are needed to support teacher educators in implementing new practices in their teaching assignments.

Authors

• Benjamin Ponet, Ghent University

• Wendelien Vantieghem, Vrije Universiteit Brussel

• Hanne Tack, Ghent University

• Ruben Vanderlinde, Ghent University