Why That White Boy is Still Teaching: The Reproduction of Whiteness as Status Quo in Teacher Education

The reports of several national commissions, like the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF, 1996 ) and the National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century (NCMST, 2000 ), have urged higher education institutions to reevaluate traditional practices in teacher education and transform or develop new teacher preparation programs to remedy the major problems identified in these reports. Among these issues are the following: Lack of coherence within the teacher preparation programs, fostered by the paucity of communication among subject-matter faculty, education faculty, and experienced teachers in the secondary-school setting; Absence of connection and congruence between educational theory that is advocated (e.g., teaching for understanding) and the teaching that is practiced in the subject matter and pedagogy courses and in the majority of secondary science classrooms; Deficient subject matter preparation of teachers; and Inadequate and unfocused nature of school-based experiences for prospective teachers. Recent calls for reform of the traditional practices in teacher education have also stressed the need for subject-area colleges to become more accountable for the quality and the quantity of our nation's teaching workforce (Riley, 1998 ; National Research Council [NRC], 1999 , 2000 ). In this regard, the University of Arizona has a tradition of subject-area colleges taking primary roles in secondary-level teacher preparation. The College of Fine Arts and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences have well-established programs for undergraduate teacher preparation, run by faculty members with appointments in their respective colleges rather than the College of Education (CoE). In the fall of 1999, the University of Arizona took a decisive step to continue its redistribution of responsibility for secondary-level teacher preparation by developing a science teacher preparation program housed entirely in the College of Science (CoS). The new CoS Teacher Preparation Program (TPP) was specifically developed and implemented to recruit and prepare undergraduate science majors to become secondary-level science teachers. The remaining sections of this essay describe 1) the development and evolution of the new CoS-based program, 2) describe the design of the program in response to the reform issues highlighted in the Introduction, and 3) comment on resources and academic issues related to the new program.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which social justice principles are integrated into Thailand’s teacher education programs and assess the preparedness of future educators to address inequality, diversity, and inclusion in their classrooms. The research seeks to identify gaps between policy and practice, understand the challenges faced by teacher educators and candidates, and propose actionable recommendations for enhancing social justice-oriented teacher training. By focusing on marginalized populations, including ethnic minorities and LGBTQ + students, this study aims to contribute to a more equitable and inclusive education system in Thailand and beyond. Design/methodology/approach This study employs a qualitative case study approach to explore how social justice principles are integrated into Thailand’s teacher education programs. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 15 teacher educators and 25 teacher candidates from public and private institutions across urban and rural areas, focus group discussions, and document analysis of curricula and policy frameworks. Thematic analysis was used to identify key barriers, practices, and opportunities for fostering equity and inclusion. A content analysis of syllabi and policy documents provided further insight into the alignment between policy directives and pedagogical practices in teacher education. Findings The findings reveal a significant gap between policy directives on social justice and their practical implementation in teacher education. While curricula include theoretical discussions on equity and inclusion, there is limited emphasis on actionable strategies for addressing classroom inequalities. Teacher educators report inadequate training and institutional support for teaching social justice principles. Inconsistent understandings of social justice and insufficient focus on marginalized groups, such as ethnic minorities and LGBTQ + students, further hinder effective integration. However, experiential learning opportunities, such as community engagement projects, demonstrate potential for bridging theory and practice, offering practical ways to enhance teacher training for equity and inclusion. Research limitations/implications This study is limited to a small number of teacher education institutions, which may not fully represent the diversity of teacher training programs in Thailand. Additionally, the focus on qualitative data limits the generalizability of findings but provides in-depth insights into participant experiences and institutional contexts. Future research could explore broader geographic and institutional contexts and incorporate quantitative methods to validate findings. The study’s implications emphasize the need for a unified national framework for social justice education and expanded professional development for teacher educators to address gaps in preparing future teachers to foster equity and inclusion. Practical implications The study highlights actionable strategies to improve social justice integration in teacher education. Recommendations include revising curricula to embed equity and inclusion as core components, enhancing professional development opportunities for teacher educators, and expanding experiential learning initiatives such as community engagement projects. Teacher training institutions are encouraged to focus on marginalized populations by incorporating modules on culturally responsive teaching and inclusive classroom practices. These practical reforms aim to better equip future educators to address inequalities, support diverse learners, and create inclusive educational environments aligned with Thailand’s national education reform goals and international standards. Social implications By addressing systemic gaps in social justice education, this study contributes to fostering a more equitable and inclusive educational system in Thailand. Strengthening teacher training to prepare educators for supporting marginalized populations, including ethnic minorities and LGBTQ + students, can help reduce discrimination and promote social cohesion. Educators equipped with social justice principles can act as agents of change, challenging structural inequalities and creating inclusive learning environments. The study’s focus on aligning teacher education with broader social justice goals supports Thailand’s commitment to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in achieving inclusive and equitable quality education for all. Originality/value This study offers a unique contribution by examining the integration of social justice principles in the context of Thailand’s teacher education programs, an area that has received limited scholarly attention. By bridging theory and practice, the research identifies critical gaps and opportunities for fostering equity and inclusion in teacher training. The study’s focus on marginalized groups, including ethnic minorities and LGBTQ + students, adds depth and relevance to global conversations on social justice in education. The findings provide actionable recommendations for policymakers, institutions, and educators, highlighting innovative practices such as experiential learning to enhance the preparation of socially just educators.

Teacher preparation programs throughout the United States have begun to include issues of second language teaching and learning in their curriculum in an effort to better prepare their teacher candidates to meet the needs of the increasingly linguistically and culturally diverse student population in K-12 schools. In this article, we argue for the importance of including the development of a multilingual stance in these efforts, which is mainstream teacher candidates’ willingness and ability to engage in bi/multilingual practices. The article first reviews recent efforts that shows the importance of using students’ full linguistic repertoire in teaching bilingual learners across classroom settings, including mainstream classrooms. It then provides a synthesis of practices in teacher education that aim to scaffold teacher candidates’ development of a multilingual stance. We conclude with suggestions for further research and implications for teacher preparation.

A qualitative metasynthesis of teacher educator self-studies on social justice: Articulating a social justice pedagogy

Purpose – This chapter explores letter writing as a narrative inquiry method in a teacher education course. The written dialog in letters by teacher candidates provided the author with deep and long-term reflection on teacher candidates' narratives of experience. In particular, the chapter examines how related literacy narratives combine critical written dialog with the written responses and counter-narratives of peers and a teacher educator.Methodology and findings – The chapter focuses on letter correspondences from three teacher candidate participants in a longitudinal study as well as response letters to those candidates from the teacher educator. Transactional inquiry and relational knowing are conceptualizations that are employed to explore how the teacher candidates and the teacher educator are curriculum makers.Value – The chapter discusses the impact of letter writing-related literacy narratives as a narrative inquiry method in teacher education programs as well as possible extensions for their use in graduate courses/research and for teacher development programs.

Understanding the Nature and Development of Self-Study.- A History and Context of Self-Study of Teaching and Teacher Education Practices.- The Nature of Teaching and Learning in Self-Study*.- Self-Study As Teaching.- Finding A Way Through The Swamp: A Case For Self-Study As Research*.- Learning Through Self-Study: The Influence Of Purpose, Participants And Context*.- Fundamental Features and Approaches of The S-Step Enterprise*.- Voice in Self-Study*.- Self-Study In Professional Practice*.- Thinking about the Thinking about Self-Study: An Analysis of Eight Chapters.- Developing a Professional Knowledge Base for Teaching.- Professional Knowledge, Teacher Education and Self-Study*.- Links between Self-Study and Teacher Education Reform*.- Research, Practice, and Academia in North America*.- Humanistic Research in Self-Study: A History of Transformation*.- The Significance of Race and Social Class for Self-Study and The Professional Knowledge Base of Teacher Education$*$.- Knowledge, Narrative And Self-Study.- Practitioner Inquiry, Knowledge, and University Culture*.- Knowledge, Social Justice and Self-Study*.- Examples of Practice: Professional Knowledge and Self-Study in Multicultural Teacher Education.- Revisioning And Recreating Practice: Collaboration In Self-Study*.- The Dialectics of Passion and Theory: Exploring The Relation Between Self-Study and Emotion*.- Representing Self-Study in Research and Practice.- The Methodology of Self-Study and Its Theoretical Underpinnings.- What Counts as Evidence in Self-Studies of Teacher Education Practices.- Self-Study Through Personal History.- Self-Study Through Action Research.- Visual Artistic Modes of Representation for Self-Study.- Using Information and Communication Technologies for the Self-Study of Teaching.- The Reflective Portfolio in Self-Study: Inquiring Into and Representing A Knowledge of Practice.- The Epistemological Dimensions and Dynamics of Professional Dialogue In Self-Study.- Afterword Moving The Methodology of Self-Study Research and Practice Forward: Challenges and Opportunities.- Self-Study in Teaching and Teacher Education.- Tracing the Development of Self-Study in Teacher Education Research and Practice.- Factors Important for the Scholarship of Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices.- Self-Study in School Teaching: Teachers' Perspectives.- The Preservice Practicum: Learning Through Self-Study In A Professional Setting.- Self Study in Teaching About Teaching.- Self-Study Research in the Context of Teacher Education Programs.- Administrators also do Self-Study: Issues of Power and Community, Social Justice and Teacher Education Reform.- Identifying Ethical Issues in Self-Study Proposals.- Interpreting The What, Why and How of Self-Study In Teaching And Teacher Education.

A litany of literature exists on teacher preparation programs, known as teacher education, and whiteness, which is the historical, systematic, and structural processes that maintain the race-based superiority of white people over people of color. The theoretical frameworks of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Critical Whiteness Studies (CWS) are used to explore whiteness and teacher education separately; whiteness within teacher education; the impact of teacher education and whiteness on white educators, educators of Color, and their students; and cautions and recommendations for teacher education and whiteness. Although teacher education and whiteness are situated within the current US sociopolitical context, the historical colonial contexts of other countries may find parallel examples of whiteness. Within this context, the historical purposes behind teacher education and the need for quality teachers in an increasingly diverse student population are identified using transdisciplinary approaches in CRT and CWS to define and describe operations of whiteness in teacher education. Particularly, race education scholars entertain the psychoanalytic, philosophical, and sociological ruminations of race, racism, and white supremacy in society and education to understand more fully how whiteness operates within teacher education. For example, an analysis of psychological attachments found in racial identities, particularly between whiteness and Blackness, helps to fully comprehend racial dynamics between teachers, who are overwhelmingly racially identified as white, and students, who are predominantly racially identified as of Color. Whiteness in teacher education, left intact, ultimately affects K-12 schooling and students, particularly students of Color, in ways that recycle institutionalized white supremacy in schooling practices. Acknowledging how reinforcing hegemonic whiteness in teacher education ultimately reifies institutional white supremacy in education altogether; implications and cautions as well as recommendations are offered to debunk the hegemonic whiteness that inoculates teacher education. Note: To symbolically reverse the racial hierarchy in our research, the authors opt to use lowercase lettering for white and whiteness, and to capitalize “people of Color” to recognize it as a proper noun along with Black and Brown.

This study, entitled 'An analysis of ICT policy development and practice in teacher education in Kenya between 1997 and 2007', is a qualitative study that uses a historical interpretive approach involving documentary analysis, interviews and case 'studies, to document the evolution of ICT policies relevant to teacher education in post independence Kenya, and explore the practices among teachers and teacher educators with ICT between 1997 and 2007. It examines the policy- practice relationship in the context of teacher education. The thesis draws from the work of Elmore and also Fullan to understand the change process with educational ICT policies. Not much research has been done in this area in Kenya and this study is therefore a useful contribution to the body of knowledge on leT policy development and practice in teacher education in developing country contexts. The ICT policy process for teacher education in Kenya takes place in a 4-Tier framework that involves international organisations at Tier 1, the Ministry of Education, other ministries and associated bodies at Tier 2, private or public sector organisations at Tier 3, and pre-service and in-service teacher education programmes at Tier 4. There is lack of co-ordination within and between these Tiers, which results in varied practices that portray differential understandings and interpretations of policy in regard to the place of ICT in teacher education.Despite the exposure to ICT training programmes, availability of computers in various institutions and in some instances, a national ICT curriculum, teacher educators' and teachers' practices in subject teaching do not reflect the policy provisions on ICT pedagogic practice. The national ICT policy, therefore, is hyperationalised and not necessarily policy in action as seen in the Case programmes. The policy discourse disjunction and stratification in the 4-Tier ICT policy development and implementation framework is responsible for the slow pace of change in training and teaching practices in Kenya. This thesis proposes that teacher needs and competencies with ICT should be identified in a backward mapping approach. This will ensure transformative practices in teaching and teacher education, reduce the occurrence of hyperationalisation and allow for consensus building regarding the place of ICT in teacher education programmes and teaching in Kenya.

Traditional teacher preparation programs in the United States are confronting a pivotal moment marked by underlying inequities, evolving policy landscapes, and escalating societal pressures. The following article examines the ongoing decline of traditional teacher education programs by analyzing four related challenges: declining enrollment, erosion of robust clinical experiences, the proliferation of fast-track licensure alternatives, and persistent equity gaps in cultural responsiveness and educator representation. The specified trends are analyzed in the article through the theoretical lenses of critical scholars, including Paulo Freire, Gloria Ladson-Billings, Geneva Gay, James A. Banks, and Linda Darling-Hammond, who collectively illuminate how reform endeavors and systemic disruptions are reshaping the purpose and practice of teacher education. The article includes a brief discussion on the recruitment and retention of Black male educators, addressing the topic in three paragraphs, though it is not a central focus of the overall analysis. Researchers have noted that higher education institutions with teacher preparation programs recognize that traditional programs continue to fall short despite a longstanding awareness of the positive impact of teacher diversity on student academic outcomes. The piece highlights the distinct challenges faced by rural school districts, particularly in recruiting skilled educators and ensuring that their teachers receive sufficient preparation. It also raises apprehension about the persistent neglect of equity-focused pedagogical processes in many teacher education programs. This issue limits the ability of future teachers to effectively serve students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. In response to these current trends and issues, the article presents a series of research-informed recommendations aimed at revitalizing traditional teacher education pathways. The reimaged curricula of traditional teacher preparation programs should include justice-oriented recruitment strategies, the development of equity-infused clinical partnerships to support internships, and practical policy advocacy centered on sustainability and inclusion as institutions support educational preparation programs not just to identify and address the pipeline crisis but also as a moral and civic responsibility. The article calls for a continued commitment to teaching that is grounded in social justice and responsive to the communities it serves. Through this transformative lens, the transformation of teacher education becomes a vital act of equity, accountability, and collective responsibility in response to ongoing changes in education and society.

The Expert in Teaching study pays special attention to the objective of connecting coursework more directly to practice in pre-service teacher education. The study was focused on developing better solutions to the problematic, weak, or even sometimes totally missing, link between theory (teaching at college) and practice (teaching internship) in teacher education. It has been stated over and over again, in several studies and reports, that teachers matter, so this was not the question in this study. The question was how teacher preparation can lead to more effective teachers. The objective of the study was to investigate whether selected actions had potential for bridging the gap between teaching at college and teaching practice, and to generate knowledge about difficulties and barriers that have to be overcome if these actions are to be implemented. Difficulties and barriers were found in the role performance of the three different parties in teacher education (college teachers, practice teachers and student teachers) and in the college teachers’ approach to teaching in which the responsibilities of the college teachers and the student teachers were unclearly differentiated and described.

Strong school-university partnerships foster valuable clinical experiences for preservice teacher candidates at three universities.The blend of practice and research at the university reaffirms my deeply held belief that worthwhile knowledge draws on both worlds. Indeed, the separation of practice from theory, of practitioners from scholars, is more often than not a divorce that is more symbolic than real. (Cuban, 1993, p. xxi)Forty-six states and the District of Columbia require some form of specialized middle level teacher preparation leading to licensure or an endorsement (Association for Middle Level Education [AMLE], 2007), and accreditation agencies inform the practices and policies for the majority of institutions preparing middle level teacher candidates across the country. Current debates about the most efficient and effective ways to improve P-12 education include teacher preparation as the focal point (Darling-Hammond, 2010), and the Blue Ribbon Panel on Clinical Preparation and Partnerships for Improved Student Learning has highlighted the importance of school- university partnerships in preparing teachers capable of increasing student achievement (National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education [NCATE], 2001; 2010). Preparing middle level teachers to improve student achievement is becoming a major priority in the larger landscape of teacher education, and concerns about the nature and quality of specialized middle level preparation permeates larger conversations about licensures and endorsements within the field of middle level education. It is critical for middle level educators to participate in these conversations to ensure that middle school philosophy remains at the core of teacher preparation practices.In this article, we describe how three universities approach middle level teacher preparation through partnerships and clinical experiences. We share the structures of our programs and the role of our partnerships in the clinical preparation of our candidates. We also discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by school-university partnerships and discuss both the advantages and disadvantages of engaging in such work. Finally, we will situate the implications of NCATE's Blue Ribbon Panel Report in the historical and social context of middle level education and offer recommendations for others seeking to develop clinical experiences through school-university partnerships.Clinical practice through partnershipsTeacher candidates often cite clinical field placements as the most powerful learning experiences of their preservice education. They tend to value field experiences over the content of teacher education courses, as the school context is very powerful and lends itself to the social nature of learning to teach. The physical divide between courses taken on college campuses and field work completed at local schools only exacerbates the disconnect teacher candidates perceive between theory and practice in teacher education. Candidates come to our programs valuing practice over theory and the very design of our programs presents the idea and reinforces it throughout their education.In an effort to help candidates value both coursework and field work, institutions of teacher education need to shiftfrom the traditional, universitybased approach of teacher preparation to a clinical approach with practice-based curriculum (Ball & Forzani, 2009). The NCATE Blue Ribbon Panel report calls for teacher preparation that is clinically based and integrates the practice and pedagogy of learning to teach (NCATE, 2010). School-embedded teacher preparation provides the opportunity to guide candidates to the explicit connections between what they are learning in their coursework and what they are observing and experiencing in their field work.Clinically-based teacher preparation is particularly important for middle level education candidates, as they need to interact with and learn from young adolescent students to value their unique developmental needs. …

Educational technology courses in teacher education programs are critical as they equip teacher candidates (TCs) with the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes to incorporate technology into their teaching. Given the rapid technological advancements, it is essential that these courses implement research-informed and current practices to promote TCs’ preparedness in using educational technologies. Accordingly, the instructional team of the educational technology course in the teacher education program at Brock University—Canada initiated a rigorous process to revise this course. This process included exploring the evolving needs of TCs and their feedback on previous course iterations and consulting with teacher educators who lead other courses in the program to ensure curriculum alignment. This paper aims to achieve the following: (1) document the course revision process, with a focus on how TCs and teacher educators were involved; (2) explore TCs’ evolving needs in educational technology; (3) present the revised educational technology course. The paper presents the findings of a survey administered to 116 TCs, focus groups with TCs, and a survey administered to 14 teacher educators. Findings from TCs’ survey showed high levels of their self-assessment of digital competence and intention to use technology in their future teaching. However, TCs believed that they had not received adequate training to do so, suggesting improvements in the design and delivery of the educational technology course. Drawing on the Voice Theory and instructional design models relevant to educational technology courses, this research offers valuable insights into TCs’ digital competence, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and universities’ response to change. Implications for teacher education research and practice are also discussed based on the course revisions and the adopted process.

Almost 2 years ago the editors of Journal of Teacher Education (JTE) announced a special themed issue of the journal on evidence, efficacy, and effectiveness in teacher education. Our goal was to gather a set of manuscripts about some of the current efforts in our field to generate empirical evidence about teacher education programs and pathways and/or to assess the efficacy and effectiveness of teacher candidates and graduates. This double issue of JTE (January/February 2006 and March/April 2006)--the final issues of the journal under the editorship of the Boston College group--includes ten articles on this topic. One way to think about these is in terms of four loose groupings: (1) empirical studies of the impact of differing teacher preparation programs and pathways, drawing on large-scale databases; (2) institutional or cross-institutional efforts to use performance and other outcomes data to assess and improve local practice; (3) analyses that take stock of the state of teacher education regarding the collection and use of evidence; and (4) articles that theorize research in and on teacher education's effectiveness and recommend new directions for the field. The first group--empirical investigations of the impact of programs or pathways--includes three articles. Boyd, Grossman, Lankford, Loeb, and Michelli describe the New York City Pathways study, which uses the New York City teacher workforce database as well as survey and interview data to examine how the features of different pathways lead to different outcomes, including performance, retention, and student achievement. Lasley, Siedentop, and Yinger discuss the Ohio Teacher Quality Partnership, which is based on the efforts of Ohio's 50 colleges and universities, state education authorities, and private corporations. Five studies examine the impact of teacher preparation on student achievement as well as how teachers add value and foster learning within the classroom. Noell and Burns report on data from the pilot study of the Louisiana Teacher Quality Initiative. This project assesses the value teacher preparation adds to pupils' achievement based on a massive multivariate longitudinal database, which is part of the statewide teacher preparation redesign effort. The second group of articles includes descriptions of systematic institutional or cross-institutional efforts to make evidence collection an internal teacher education activity that drives local practice and policy. Pecheone and Chung describe results from California's 2-year, statewide implementation of the Performance Assessment for California Teachers (PACT); they discuss how this can be used to support teacher candidates' learning and improve teacher preparation within and across institutions. Castle, Fox, and Souder compare the efficacy and performance of teachers prepared in professional development schools (PDSs) and non-PDS teacher preparation programs at the same university, based on analysis of student teaching evaluations and portfolio presentations. Darling-Hammond reports on the collection and analysis of a number of different forms of evidence gathered at one institution; she describes how these multiple assessment strategies are used to evaluate and improve the teacher preparation program and critiques the possibilities and limits of each. Articles in the third group take stock of the state of the teacher education profession regarding the collection and use of credible and persuasive evidence. Wineburg reports the results of a survey by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) to find out what kinds of data were being collected by teacher education institutions to meet the current demand for evidence; she calls for professional frameworks to guide the collection of teacher education evidence nationally. Fallon argues that there is too little research on teacher education that uses pupil learning growth as the measure of effectiveness. …

According to Baker and Rytina’s (2014), the total number of legal immigrants coming to the United States during the ten years from 1980 to 1989 is 990,000, whereas in two more recent years from 2010 to 2012, the number rose to 2,810,000. As a country with an increasing influx of immigrants from all over the world, the United States has expressed a paramount need for the proportionately rising number of well-trained English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers. This paper presents the origin of American teacher education dated back from the nineteenth century, noticing common features and variations amongst teacher preparation programs. The significance as well as desirable goals of American teacher training programs are also discussed. Additionally, realities at teacher preparation institutions and workplace, and enormous challenges facing programs of pre-service preparation in the U.S. are demonstrated. Perceptions of qualified teacher preparation programs held by teacher educators’, teacher candidates’, school administrators’ perspectives, and the correlation amongst these three perceptions are explored. Finally, exemplars of qualified teacher education programs in the United States are demonstrated for replication.

A component of student teaching that has long been debated is how to assess the effectiveness of teacher candidates' practice. One assessment that has gained attention is the educative teacher performance assessment, or edTPA. Introduced in 2013 by Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE), edTPA has become a principal focus of the TESOL practicum and its companion seminar in schools of education that prepare teachers for state certification in the United States. EdTPA has been hailed by its supporters as an effective, authentic assessment, but TESOL teacher educators' current perspectives about the edTPA in English as an additional language (EAL) have thus far been largely unexamined. Since its inception, has edTPA changed the TESOL practicum in concrete ways, and if so, how? In this chapter, the perspectives of six teacher educators are shared to shed light on current thought about the role and value of edTPA in English as an Additional Language (EAL) certification programs. Areas of inquiry were (1) changes in TESOL teacher preparation programs, (2) teacher candidates' success or failure in completing edTPA, (3) the educational value of edTPA in teacher education, (4) the effect of edTPA on the practice of teacher educators, and (5) waiving edTPA in times of COVID-19.