Generative Principles for Professional Learning for Equity-Oriented Urban English Teachers (original) (raw)
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Critical Professional Development: Centering the Social Justice Needs of Teachers
The International Journal of Critical Pedagogy, 2015
As a response to increasingly technocratic, top-down teacher professional development that we refer to as antidialogical professional development (APD), this article theorizes a model of critical professional development (CPD) where teachers are engaged as politically-aware individuals who have a stake in teaching and transforming society. Illuminating three US based case studies of CPD that emerged in response to the unmet needs of justice-oriented teachers- The People’s Education Movement, New York Collective of Radical Educators’ Inquiry to Action groups, and the Institute for Teachers of Color Committed to Racial Justice- this article uses Freire’s framework of dialogical action to analyze shared critical practices. In each independent case, teachers were engaged in a cooperative dialectical process, there was a strong emphasis on unity amongst participants around their social justice goals, the structure was organized through shared power between teachers and organizers, and ...
Equity & Excellence in Education, 2019
This article explores how two urban schools help teachers create equitable spaces for students. We describe the structures and experiences supporting teacher learning and transfer of learning to practice as well as what happens when what is designed for and what is enacted do not align. Findings include that teacher professional learning for equity must (1) include centering it on content related to equity and critical pedagogy; (2) model instructional practices that promote equity; (3) create a culture of inquiry and ownership to promote a school ecosystem where equity and deeper learning thrive; and (4) invite students' voices into the conversation to understand the impact of teachers' professional learning. "The obligation of anyone who thinks of himself as responsible is to examine society and try to change it and to fight it-at no matter what risk."-James Baldwin James Baldwin's "A Talk to Teachers" suggests that the purpose of education is "to create in a person the ability to look at the world for himself, to make his own decisions … [to] ask questions" (1963, p. 42). Yet Baldwin also cautions us that society is wary of such deep learners, thinkers, and doers; he reminds us that the structures of our society have been "hammered into place" and rely on compliance for sustainability. That last statement bears repeating: the structures of our society have been hammered into place and rely on compliance for sustainability. In schools across the United States, our most struggling students of color, those from poverty, English Language learners, immigrants, and students with disabilities experience instruction that reflects such compliance. This "pedagogy of poverty," described by Haberman (1991), is teacher-driven, rewards passivity and silence, and values worksheet completion over question asking, meaning making, problem solving, and engagement (Noguera, Darling-Hammond, & Friedlaender, 2015). Such experiences are too commonly sustained in our current educational system, where teacher preparation programs often fail to support educators in developing the skills and mindsets needed to close the opportunity and achievement gaps of struggling students. Also, teachers' own professional learning experiences may inadequately support them as engaged, curious, and autonomous learners, serving to reinforce a vision of weak facilitation and lackluster content. At a moment in our nation where we suffer severe gaps in high school graduation rates for students of color, students from low-income families, students with disabilities, and English Language learners (Civic Enterprises Data Brief, 2016), we see an increasing need to disrupt a system of complicity. As Paulo Freire asserts, "Any situation in which some men prevent others from engaging in the process of inquiry is one of violence" (1970, p. 73).
Self-Studies in Urban Teacher Education Preparing U.S. Teachers to Advance Equity and Social Justice
Self-Studies in Urban Teacher Education Preparing U.S. Teachers to Advance Equity and Social Justice, 2022
This book critically explores pedagogical activities, policies, and coursework that teacher education programs can provide to more fully prepare teacher candidates and in-service educators for professional practice in urban schools. It illustrates how teacher educators from across the United States are supporting teacher candidates and in-service teachers to possess the knowledge, skills, and dispositions for equity-oriented instructional practices and advocacy for professional engagement in the urban context. Chapters share insider perspectives of urban teacher education on preparing teachers to teach in culturally, linguistically, and socio-economically diverse classrooms. They discuss teacher educators’ learning about their own practice in the preparation of teachers for city schools, preparing teacher candidates from rural and suburban contexts to teach in urban settings, and supervising practicing teachers in city classrooms. The volume also focuses on the interplay of cultural and linguistic parity between teacher educators and their preservice/in-service teacher students, implementing learning activities or coursework about teaching in urban schools, and enacting critical pedagogical practices. This book will be beneficial to teacher educators focused on teacher preparation for city classrooms and urban school districts, and researchers seeking to adopt self-study methodology in their own research endeavors.
As a response to increasingly technocratic, top-down teacher professional development that we refer to as antidialogical professional development (APD), this article theorizes a model of critical professional development (CPD) where teachers are engaged as politically-aware individuals who have a stake in teaching and transforming society. Illuminating three US based case studies of CPD that emerged in response to the unmet needs of justice-oriented teachers—The People’s Education Movement, New York Collective of Radical Educators’ Inquiry to Action groups, and the Institute for Teachers of Color Committed to Racial Justice—this article uses Freire’s (1970) framework of dialogical action to analyze shared critical practices. In each independent case, teachers were engaged in a cooperative dialectical process, there was a strong emphasis on unity amongst participants around their social justice goals, the structure was organized through shared power between teachers and organizers, and teacher and student needs were centered using a practice of cultural synthesis. Reframing the possibilities of teacher professional development through this model of critical, dialogical practice, this article offers a critique of the banking methods and technical content traditionally used within APD, and provides insights into how teachers can successfully be positioned as experts in their own social justice-oriented professional growth.
Tensions in School Context and Teacher Praxis in Equity-Oriented Professional Learning
Teaching language-minoritized students requires educators to gain equity-oriented ways of thinking and teaching. Using critical sociocultural perspectives on teacher learning, pedagogy, and coaching, we explore how 22 teachers at two United States urban elementary schools experienced a year-long, equity-oriented instructional coaching program focused on pedagogical practices called the Enduring Principles of Learning. Drawing on Freire's idea of praxis, interview data were analyzed to reveal tensions arising from enacting new pedagogical practices and how these tensions (or the lack thereof) related to teachers' professional learning. School climate and principal leadership style generated different types of tension, resulting in differential teacher uptake.
Equity and Excellence in Education , 2019
Abstract This paper explores how two urban schools help teachers create equitable spaces for students. We describe the structures and experiences supporting teacher learning and transfer of learning to practice as well as what happens when what is designed for and what is enacted do not align. Findings include 1. Teacher professional learning for equity must include centering it on content related to equity and critical pedagogy. 2. Teacher professional learning should model instructional practices that promote equity. 3. Create a culture of inquiry and ownership to promote a school ecosystem where equity and deeper learning thrive; and 4. Invite students’ voices into the conversation to understand the impact of teachers’ professional learning.
Engaged Pedagogy: Meeting the Demands for Justice in Urban Professional Development Schools
Teacher Education Quarterly, 2003
Over the past decade or more, educators and policymakers have sought to define new directions for teacher education in order to ad ■■■■■■■ dress widely perceived failures to prepare teachers Ronald David Glass is an adequately for the challenges to be faced in schools, associate professor in the especially those serving the poor and English learners College of Education at (Clifford & Guthrie, 1988; Goodlad, Soder& Sirotnik, Arizona State University 1990; Holmes Group, 1995; Quartz et al, 2001). As West, Phoenix, Arizona; colleges of education and urban school districts have Pia Lindquist Wong is an established collaborative Professional Development associate professor and Schools (PDSs) to meet the particular needs of under director of the Equity resourced urban schools, they have discovered unex Network in the pected challenges that exacerbate the already difficult Department of Bilingual/ issues that they set out to address. This article investi Multicultural Education gates some...
[narrative] in education, 2010
In this paper, we report on a collaborative self-study in which we reflect upon our practice as teacher educators through a critical multicultural and white studies framework. We developed a pedagogical tool for our own professional development as teacher educators, modeled on the type of narrative assignments we ask of our students. We wrote stories about difficult moments in our practice, shared these with colleagues and reflected upon their responses. In this activity, we aimed to practice what we preach, as we model our commitment to being life-long learners; our respect for the power of listening to others and considering multiple perspectives; and our constant desire to critique and transform our practice in ways that are more effective and contribute to the educational success of all students. Our analysis of our experience demands that we reconsider our assumptions about student learning, how we hold our students accountable, and how we are socialized as white women within the academy of higher education.
The Urban Review, 2013
Teaching for social justice means understanding students and advocating for them. These dispositions are especially critical for those who teach in urban communities where low-resourced schools and deficit perspectives toward students prevail. While many teacher education programs claim to prepare teachers for social justice (Zeichner in Teacher education and the struggle for social justice. Routledge, New York, 2009), it remains unclear how program graduates actually think and act according to social justice principles. This study focuses on the dispositions of three, early-career teachers in relation to Cochran-Smith's (The international handbook of educational change. Springer, New York, 2010) theory of social justice in education, and some of the background and contextual factors that shaped their ability to enact social justice teaching practices. Case studies, largely based on teachers' written narratives, reveal differences in their orientations toward: (1) caregivers, (2) students' knowledge traditions, and (3) their ability to raise students' critical consciousness. The two teachers who were most evolved in their demonstrations of social justice teaching grew up in families where service to others was highly valued. The study also demonstrates how two of the teachers managed in school contexts where scripted teaching and high stakes testing were enforced, and how these conditions factored into one teacher's departure from her position. Findings from this study indicate how teacher education and professional development programs can be strengthened to develop and support teachers' social justice orientations.