Towards an Antiableist, Antiracist Approach to Preparing Teachers

• In Event: Critical Turn in Teacher Residencies

Abstract

Teacher residencies are increasingly recognized as clinically rich, practice-based pathways for teacher education that include immersive, year-long apprenticeships with experienced mentor teachers and foster deep integration of theory and practice (National Center for Teacher Residencies, 2021; Silva et al., 2014). Many are grounded in a commitment to educational equity and justice in K-12 schooling, espousing purposeful intentions to prepare educators who can effectively teach all students in demonstrably culturally and academically responsive ways (Darling-Hammond, 2012; Guha et al., 2017a; Matsko, Ronfeldt, & Nolan, 2022; NCTR, 2015).

As residencies work to build a more diverse teaching force (Guha et al., 2017a; Guha et al., 2017b) and longer retention of new teachers in the profession (Guha et al., 2017a, Silva et al., 2015), these programs are increasingly being replicated across the nation (NCTR, 2020). Research shows that the model is working to increase recruitment and retention, particularly for teachers of color; however, the efficacy of residencies for preparing strong educators who are prepared to dismantle structures of inequity through their teaching is less well evidenced or explored. This is particularly true when a social-justice orientation is defined as the antiracist, antiableist praxis of teaching all students across all markers of difference in classrooms that center belonging as a precursor for learning.

While many residency programs are built around justice-oriented or equity-driven missions, disability has historically and contemporarily been left out of these conversations, and ableism remains pervasive in schooling structures and educator practices (Connor, 2013; Valle & Connor, 2019). By centering antiableism, antiracism, and their intersectional interdependence, residencies and their K-12 partners can prepare their emerging teachers to become truly justice-oriented, inclusive pedagogues, committed to teaching all of their learners and actively disrupting structures and systems of oppression inherent to traditional schooling (Connor, 2019). We believe a wide range of highly-committed candidates can, with efficacious preparation, become strong and effective teachers, once residencies ground themselves in antiableist as well as antiracist pedagogy and practice.

Using grounded interviewing methods with program faculty and conducting a discourse analysis of curriculum, this paper explores how teacher educators in a university-based residency conceptualize and enact antiableism with aspiring teachers within their curriculum, pedagogy, and guidance and support for K-12 partner classrooms. Grounded in a critical disabilities studies framework, this research aims to illuminate the nuanced ways in which antiableist principles are at times prioritized or marginalized within teacher preparation, ultimately impacting the development of inclusive educational practices among resident teachers.

The study’s scholarly significance lies in its contribution to the nascent but growing body of literature on antiableism in teacher education. By offering a nuanced qualitative exploration grounded in a critical disabilities framework, this study shows the complexities of integrating antiableist principles into teacher preparation programs. The findings will inform the development of more effective and equitable preparation practices, curricula, and partnership models, ultimately contributing to the education of teachers who can both challenge ableism and create truly inclusive learning environments for all students.

Authors

• Diana Turk, New York University

• Rachel Elizabeth Traxler, New York University

• Sarah L. Schlessinger, New York University