Teachers as Policy Actors: Diagramming Community, Agency, and Participation in an Education Policy Assemblage (Poster 14)

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Thursday 8:00 a.m.
  In Poster Session: Social Context of Education Policies, Mattering, and Praxis

Abstract

The political debate around education policies and practices does not often invite PK-12 teachers into the conversation. In response, a group of professors and alumni from an education policy course formed an assemblage and created a forum where teacher interests and concerns drove conversations with various stakeholders. This paper diagrams the workings, meanings, and outcomes of a purposefully designed space for teachers to assemble with community members, policy makers, and legislators. Analysis of participant reflections shows that teachers struggle with controlling aspects of policy and crave spaces where they can find community and collectively work together to reform, create, and implement policies that honor instead of marginalize students’ lived experience. These understandings inform construction of future policy spaces for teachers.

Authors

• Julia C. Kantor, University of Colorado - Denver

• Dane Stickney, University of Colorado - Denver

• Forrest C Ponsot, San Diego State University

• Rachel Parker Shearer, University of Colorado - Denver

• Milahd Makooi, Mapleton Public Schools

• Joanne McGuire, School District 27J