Communal Praxis: A Core Component for Action Around Educator Preparation

• In Event: Pipe Dreams: Humanizing the Teaching Profession and Pipeline Through Liberatory Imagining

Abstract

Objectives. By highlighting how a collaborative community can be leveraged as a driving force for transformative change in teacher education, we utilize research-to-practice approaches in addressing the needs of teacher candidates with intersectional identities.

Perspective(s) or theoretical framework. Given the declining numbers of incoming teacher candidates and the steady attrition of in-service educators, there exists an explicit need to develop and retain teachers within the profession (DiNapoli, 2021). Furthermore, shortages in key areas of special education (Ondrasek, Carver-Thomas, Scott, & Darling-Hammond, 2020) and teachers of color negatively impact the academic experiences of learners. While teacher flight from the profession within five years has been well-documented (Ingersoll, et. al., 2018), the strain of the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this intellectual drain. Within this context, teacher educators play a crucial role in growing and diversifying the educator workforce.

Methods, Techniques, or Modes of Inquiry. Utilizing culturally responsive methodologies (Berryman, Soohoo, & Nevin, 2013), we enacted a case study design to discuss the results from the work of five educator preparation programs (EPPs) involved in a Networked Improvement Community (NIC). With a particular attention on inclusion of students with disabilities, anti-racist practices, social emotional learning (SEL), and culturally and linguistically relevant teaching (CLRT), the communal focus of the network included: 1) Equitable Access and Opportunity for all Students, 2) Thriving Teachers and Students, 3) Innovative Practices, and 4) Meaningful TK-12 Partnerships. Our questions were:
What governance structures need to be in place to meaningfully include and build equity for all students, particularly those with intersectional identities?
How do we prepare teachers to create and sustain school environments where teachers and students thrive?
How do we develop teacher candidate competencies to meet the needs of students with intersectional identities?
What are characteristics of meaningful and reciprocal partnerships between EPPs and local educational agencies (LEAs) where teacher candidates receive high–quality, community focused, clinically rich experiences?
Data Collection. Both quantitative and qualitative data provided understanding of participant experience around involvement in the networked improvement community. A formal technical assistance survey collected perception data around effectiveness, relevance, and overall impact of collective work. Qualitative data was collected through small group discussions where participants shared their thoughts, opinion, and experiences.

Findings: Key recommendations emerging from our work included:


Teacher education professionals emphasized the deep importance of culturally responsive, collaborative learning spaces as humanizing and crucial to innovation in preparing diverse candidates.
Teacher education programs need to focus on refining existing structures of internal governance to ensure effectiveness in supporting candidates with intersectional identities.
Even when teacher education programs emphasize diversity, equity, and inclusion in candidate preparation, there is a need for a sustained focus of disability justice within the curriculum.
Both EPPs and LEAs benefit from renegotiating symbiotic partnerships that allow for the sharing of resources, expertise, and insights.

Significance. If we are to address the current structures that perpetuate continued marginalization for students with intersectional identities, then we should leverage collaborative communities as key roles in understanding and enacting innovation in teacher education.

Authors

• Charlotte Achieng-Evensen, Chapman University

• Kevin J. Nguyen-Stockbridge, Chapman University