Toward a Transformational Approach to Racial Justice in Teacher Education

• In Event: Barriers and Possibilities: Moving Toward Justice in Teacher Education

Abstract

As calls for racial justice sweep the nation with renewed vigor, it is crucial that teacher preparation programs adequately prepare teachers for anti-racist practice that can contribute to social transformation. This paper analyzes how two teacher preparation programs, No Excuses Teacher Residency (NETR) and Progressive Teacher Residency (PTR), prepare their preservice teachers to address issues of race and racism with their students. Applying the tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and emancipatory schooling, this research argues that neither approach sufficiently challenges existing systems of oppression or advances racial justice. Building upon scholarship by Black educators and on multicultural, social justice, and culturally responsive teacher education, authors propose a framework for transformative teacher education.

Authors

• Victoria Marie Theisen-Homer, Northern Arizona University

• Emily Nicole Nunez-Eddy, Arizona State University - Tempe