Transforming Teacher Education for Social Justice

Book excerpt: Transforming Teacher Education for Social Justice offers teacher educators a new way to think about the development of culturally responsive educators. The authors identify the core components needed to restructure and reorient programs of teacher education to adequately prepare new teachers for the racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse communities they will serve upon graduation. They propose a new model of teacher preparation that capitalizes on the strengths of programs evidencing important outcomes. Chapters address the notion of situated learning embedded in communities; the need for extensive clinical experience in authentic teaching situations; strategies for interweaving theory, content, pedagogy, and classroom practice; the importance of student engagement and motivation; and the implementation of critical service learning. Key policy implications of this model are also discussed within the current landscape of teacher education reform. Book Features: A specific approach for realizing the promise of culturally responsive teaching. A flexible model for a community-engaged teacher preparation. Compelling data on student learning outcomes based on university/school/community collaboration as evidence of eliminating the achievement gap. “The most striking piece of this book is the descriptions and stories of how the community serves as mentors to the university faculty and students. The authors take readers with them through the many authentic activities led by the community mentors. We are left both with the desire to spend time with these remarkable community members ourselves and the desire to develop similar community-based programs.” —Jana Noel, California State University, Sacramento “Mandatory reading for teacher educators who are serious about preparing teachers for diverse schools and communities.” —Tyrone Howard, UCLA