Engaging in Innovative and Equitable PST Education Practices and Enacting Social Justice Pedagogy in Liminal Spaces

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 3:45 pm - Gold 1
  In Roundtable Session: Supervision and Social Justice: Supporting Preservice Teachers’ Growth, Agency, and Critical Reflections on Power

Abstract

This self-study of teacher education practices explores how they engaged PSTs in developing social justice awareness through informal pedagogical strategies embedded in liminal classroom moments. The study employed personal narratives to humanize marginalized students and foster empathy. Guided by a justice-as-praxis framework and grounded in qualitative methodologies, the study examined how changes in teacher education practices impacted PSTs’ beliefs in DEI and CRT pedagogies. Findings revealed shifts in PSTs’ perceptions of students and increased understanding of culturally responsive pedagogy, despite limited formal instruction. The study demonstrates the efficacy of leveraging liminal spaces as transformative opportunities for social justice learning. It offers an adaptable model that reflects flexible and reflexive teaching practices designed to improve PSTs' learning.

Authors

• Maggie Mnayer, Central Michigan University

• Alice N. Williams, Florida State University