Finding Our Voices: A Self-Study of Changemaking in Teacher Education

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 30
  In Roundtable Session: Power, Empowerment, and Authority in Teacher Education

Abstract

What does it take to make change? Changemakers, a phrase used by the Ashoka Foundation, an international organization focused on social entrepreneurship, are “empathetic, ethical actors who will positively impact their own lives, their communities, their schools, … their countries and the world, now and throughout their lives” (Start Empathy Initiative, 2017). This paper reports on a year-long, self-study as early-career teacher educators. Based on a series of pedagogical practice discussions, we designed a framework to understand the concept of change. We see changemaking as a potential guidepost for teaching and learning, comprised of 4 core components: reflection, agency, empathy, and advocacy. In this paper, we use these components to describe personal and collective critical dialogues with pre-service teacher candidates.

Authors

• Sarah M Hart, University of Hartford

• Margaret Clark, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts