Search

Diversity and social justice are essential in the field of social work; therefore, it is essential for social work educators to identify effective methods for teaching diversity courses. This study used a mixed-methods evaluation to assess student perceptions and the impact of innovations on teaching methods and assignments for an undergraduate social work diversity class. Innovations include changes to course structure and assignments. A pre- and posttest using the Social Justice Scale revealed significant improvement in social justice attitudes, goals, and intentions between the beginning and end of the semester. Qualitative findings from a survey and focus groups indicated students perceived the class positively and identified several impacts: increased knowledge, attitudinal changes, and enhanced skills. Implications are discussed.

Three mid-career teacher educators, each of whom involuntarily served as mid-level administrators are now in the similar position of having left those roles. Each has a different story to tell and they come from very different institutions, yet find themselves experiencing many of the same issues and frustrations. This collaborative self-study was an intentional study of and reflection on how their administrative roles impacted or changed their perspectives on teacher education in general and how it changed them each personally. The weight of the role had lasting implications for their personal and professional selves. Their reflective journals, weekly online meetings, and responses to each other's experiences resulted in findings that can inform the work of others in similar positions or circumstances. Those findings, while both similar and distinct, reveal enough commonality that we, as teacher educators often placed in positions of leadership, must consider the implications for our practice, our students, our scholarship community, and our selves.

As teacher educators, we explored the impact of a range of teaching approaches to encourage the development of critically reflective thinking (CRT) in teacher candidates. Our study, the second in a series of three investigations, examined differences in two preservice secondary teachers' responses to CRT as part of a teacher licensure program. We discuss the influence of content area conventions and views on curriculum when preservice teachers are exposed to tools that promote CRT. Our study includes data analyses of the experiences of preservice teachers' work in urban student-teaching classrooms, along with the university coursework in a teacher preparation program. Our research questions examine the perspectives of two preservice teachers and address the following: On completion of a year-long teacher preparation program focused on encouraging CRT, what are the differences between two preservice teachers in their critically reflective thinking as evidenced by their reflections on teaching? In what ways do the perspectives differ between two content area teachers? And after a first year of teaching, what are these same teachers' CRT perspectives? Our study is designed to produce usable knowledge--that is, findings that other teacher educators should consider in the design and implementation of field-based experiences and curriculum development for preservice teachers working with diverse student populations.

This study closely examined the stated and implicit philosophical stances of student teacher supervisors from their own perspectives as well as from the perspectives of the student teachers with whom they worked. Written and audio documentation of the interactions and conversations between each of the participating student teachers and his or her individual supervisor after classroom observations of teaching practice allowed the authors to explore the perceptions of stances in comparison to their enactment in actual supervision. Their goal was (1) to determine the nature of supervisors' philosophical stances and whether student teachers and supervisors perceived their enactment in practice as matching or contradicting the stated stance, and (2) to explore the possible relevant causes for the stance (origin and development) and participants' perceptions about the stance. Further, they explored the influence of stance on supervisors' practice and on their student teachers' learning, including how the supervisors' self-awareness of stance influenced their practice, consistency in enactment, challenges to enactment, and influence on student teachers. (Contains 1 table.)

Teacher educators and preservice teachers are increasingly tasked with ensuring that their classrooms are safe and respectful environments that encourage metacognitive reflection and modeling best practices. With this in mind, this paper uses a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis (Orr, 2013) tool that employs the Four Pillars of Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy framework established by Diaz et al. (2023) to invite educators, teams, and schools to contribute their own work to uplift and share strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, as well as resources and experiences they engage in with a community of those who share their vision for a more equitable, inclusive teaching and learning environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative case study explored teaching approaches designed to develop critically reflective thinking (CRT) for preservice teachers in an urban, secondary teacher preparation program. Despite concerted use of CRT within course lessons, online discussions, and case studies, participants demonstrated varying degrees in their understanding of diversity and how they will respond in their teaching practices. Findings speak to the critical importance for teacher preparation that acknowledges conceptual readiness and receptivity among preservice teachers when challenging beliefs regarding diversity using critically reflective pedagogy. Findings will inform other teacher educators in the development of pedagogy and the tools for supporting critically reflective thinking, problem solving, and decision making in urban schools.

Two pre-tenured faculty members at dissimilar institutions found themselves in similar positions--both were assigned to administrative positions that they did not seek. This self-study is an investigation of their processes of becoming leaders and how they aligned and/or conflicted with their espoused beliefs. A review of the literature that guided them is also included. Throughout the process, the two served as co-mentors for each other as they navigated the unfamiliar territory of educational leadership at the university level. Together, they strove to remain committed to shared ideals of democratic practice, transparency, and collaboration. As evidenced in the data, tensions existed as they learned and performed their new roles. Administrative duties and their enactment at times conflicted with their ideals of effective leadership. Electronic journals kept throughout the process were the main data source, which they then revisited to chart their own and each other's learning and growth while leading. Looking back at their progression, they were able to identify four iterative phases in their development: forming, storming, norming, and performing. Discussions of each phase, with examples, are focal points of the study. The co-mentoring model is one that, while not typically or formally used, was shown to be effective for these two new leaders. Leading each other's learning helped them align ideals of leading (in teaching and scholarship) with traditional ideas of administration (management tasks and leadership enactments). This study provides clear recommendations for new leaders and those who support them in becoming leaders.

Four novice teacher educators working at different universities in the USA and Canada used online journaling and dialoguing combined with feedback from their students to explore their practice and new roles as teacher educators in new contexts. Their priorities included modeling critical reflection and enacting democratic practices. They chronicle their struggles and successes over the course of an academic year. The authors' online community provided a viable and valued venue for self-study. Findings include insight into their taken-for-granted assumptions, how their instructional efforts were interpreted by others, and the impact that their collaborative efforts had on each researcher's professional development. The authors include implications for universities and colleges regarding the format and structure of mentoring of junior faculty.

This study reports on the experiences of supervisors in a university teacher preparation program regarding their critical reflection on their practice. This has an impact on the learning opportunities available for their student teachers. Findings include: (a) an understanding of critical reflection is something that builds over time for student teachers through exposure to their supervisor's practice; (b) explicitly modeling, guiding, and communicating the importance of critical reflection in teaching practice through supervisory stance helps teacher candidates develop critically reflective practices and understandings; (c) developing critical reflection in their individual and shared practices takes time for both parties.

The purpose of this research was to investigate critically reflective thinking (CRT) among prospective teachers as they analyzed course readings and field- and school-based experiences that focus on the education of diverse students. We hoped to identify and trace the development of critically reflective thinking as it appeared in participants' reflections on their experiences. The following thematic question guided this research: At the conclusion of a year-long preservice teacher education course designed to foster critically reflective thinking, what kind of thinking is demonstrated in questionnaire results, small-group computer-mediated discussions, action research, and personal teaching texts? Ideally, this work allows us to help our teacher candidates develop pedagogical approaches that respect and validate the learners in their future classrooms. As a longitudinal embedded multiple case study, our data present a rich qualitative view of the participants' thinking, offering a more complete picture of the views of teacher candidates as they grapple with the reality of their classroom context at the same time that they develop their teacher selves., Introduction How teachers regard students' language, race, gender, and socioeconomic status has a profound effect on students' success in school (Comber & Simpson, 2001). When teachers believe that minority students' [...]

Collaborative self-study involving three mid-career teacher educators at different universities who introduced three new teaching strategies into their courses. Strategies promoted students to actively work with one another to construct and share their understandings. Researchers investigated implications for self, practices, outcomes, and relationships with students. Data included researchers' reflective journals, Zoom conferences, course materials, teaching notes, and students' survey responses and feedback. Each instructor's students were encouraged to critique and reflect on the strategies' utilization. Four themes emerged: unsettling consequences of change, renewed energy and enthusiasm for teaching, new skills and perspectives, and perceptions of student engagement, learning, and relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This self-study describes two junior teacher educators' retrospective analysis of stories they told themselves and others during the first years of their practice. Using the tools of narrative analysis and a Living Theory framework, we engaged in a re-analysis of our reflective journals and our students' anonymous feedback in order to interrogate our current concepts of self and practice in relationship to those we espoused as we entered the academy. Our re-analysis showed our early perceptions have shifted, informed by our growing understanding of our roles and contexts. Reconsidering early student feedback illuminated consistencies and contradictions between the stories we told ourselves and our students' perceptions. This study has significance for novice teacher educators and others who find themselves in new academic positions. Reanalysis and reflection of this nature can increase teacher educator efficacy. Furthermore, this study emphasizes the importance of collaboration and the value of self-study as tools for the development of emerging teacher educator-researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]