Critical Reflection and Generativity: Toward a Framework of Transformative Teacher Education for Diverse Learners

Abstract

This chapter provides a critical and synthesizing review of the literature on issues related to preparing teachers for diverse learners from historical and theoretical standpoints, reviewing more than 50 years of calls for teacher education reform and efforts to prepare White teachers and teachers of color for racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity in schools and communities. It finds that the limited success of such efforts is the result of policy changes that overemphasize recruitment and underemphasize retention, and calls for restructuring teacher education programs and research that focuses on critical reflection and generativity that can lead to transformative practices in the classroom. The authors argue for a (re)new(ed) emphasis on community-based teacher preparation grounded in critical reflection and generativity, which facilitates and promotes transformative teacher education that prepares teachers to teach diverse student populations.