Journal of Culture and Values in Education (JCVE)
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Critical Race Theory: Disruption in Teacher Education Pedagogy
Get PDFTeacher education programs are charged with preparing teacher candidates to successfully educate student populations that are more racially and culturally diverse than ever. However, a look at graduation rates among teacher education programs proves that the majority still produce, on average, a teaching force that is 80% White, although White students make up less than 49% the total Kindergarten-12th grade public school population (U.S. Department of Education, 2016). Absent from the dialogue on diversity in teacher education is a discussion on how race and racism are institutionalized and maintained within such programs (Sleeter, 2016). In this article, the use of Critical Race Theory (CRT) offers tools to examine the role of race and racism in teacher education. I further consider the role CRT can play in the disruption of postsecondary rhetoric about teacher education programs. Focus is placed on my own experiences in a Teaching Internship Seminar course when applying the structures of CRT to encourage conversations on disruptive practices that facilitate social justice in a course within a teacher preparation program. The tenets of interest convergence and permanence of racism are examined in the context of course development as pedagogical practices that disrupt normative patterns in teacher education. I conclude by envisioning how faculty in teacher education programs might address these challenges in such a way that offers suggestions derived from these tenets
Implementing non-traditional assessment strategies in teacher preparation: Opportunities and challenges
Get PDFAssessment and grading in higher education have traditionally focused on “A” through “F”, or point-based alpha-numeric letter grades and subjective, independent grading systems. Despite the ubiquity of this system, there are no universal guidelines on how to assess student learning on that scale. What can be problematic about “the way things have always been” is that students are frequently de-humanized; higher education faculty often focus on compliance and authoritarian teaching rather than engaging in the learning process alongside the students. In contrast, some faculty members have explored non-traditional assessment practices in their coursework to enhance the learning process and improve individualized student support. This article offers strategies for implementing non-traditional assessments, specifically mediated office hours, mastery learning, and ungrading strategies are addressed
Teacher Educators as Disruptors Redesigning Courses in Teacher Preparation Programs to Prepare white Preservice Teachers
Get PDFMany institutions of higher education, and their teacher preparation programs, have mission or core value statements that include terms such as diversity, equity, or social justice. The terms are meant to suggest an inclusive approach but it’s often difficult to see how those terms are operationalized. As two Black pre-tenure faculty members working in predominantly white institutions (PWIs), we have pushed our teacher preparation programs to go beyond putting keywords in mission statements and provide ways to follow through so future teachers can enact the concepts in their classrooms. We use Self-Study in Teacher Education Practices (S-STEP) and Critical Race Theory (CRT) to make meaning of our own narratives, the systems that negatively impact people of color, and signaling words within our teacher preparation programs. We use the data from our personal narratives to discuss ways junior faculty can act as disruptors to ensure white preservice teachers are better prepared for the field.
 
Promoting Change within Special Education Teacher Preparation Program: A Collision of Needs
Get PDFThe United States is experiencing a systemic teacher shortage (Sutcher et al., 2016). This trend is not new to the field of special education, which has been experiencing teacher shortages for decades (Boe, 2006; McLeskey & Billingsley, 2008; U.S. Department of Education, 2020). To address these critical shortages of teachers in the field, states have created Alternative Routes to Licensure (ARL) options, which are commonly seen as non-traditional approaches to gaining teaching credentials. Although the disruptive practice of ARL is already in place, the evidence to support its effectiveness is not. This paper explores the experiences of junior faculty members working as agents of change by disrupting one special education department’s ARL program. Emphasis is given to the system supports in place to change the ARL and existing systemic barriers to these changes at the department, college and university levels. Additionally, structures which aided or hindered completing programmatic work from the perspective of the untenured faculty members are also discussed
From Brain Drain to Brain Gain: The Battle Against Talent Drain
Get PDFBuilding an enabling scientific community of educated or professional people is a growing focus for many American cities. The retention of home-grown graduates increases the intellectual capacity in a region. Arising from technology-driven accelerated growth, the geographical mobility of young skilled workers has become a key issue in recent studies, attracting the attention of both academics and policymakers. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that influence the retention or draining of graduates from a mid-sized higher education instruction’s Child and Youth Studies (CYS), an innovative transformational educational program. The program is focused on developing a socially entrepreneurial mindset on the part of the learner. The study is also aimed at identifying how urban areas in southwest Florida would work toward retaining a large pool of young innovative graduates and enjoy the benefits of smart growth. The data for the study was collected by sending out a survey to 115 current students or those who are about to graduate. The selected 50 (43.5%) participated in the study by completing the survey. The data was analyzed using several descriptive statistics. Several retention factors were identified. They included socio-economic and recreational factors. The research found that the majority of the graduates left not just because it was not easy to find competitive-paying jobs in the region but rather because of lack of awareness of the availability. Other significant factors included inadequate housing, lack of support for their entrepreneurial incubators, and poor public transport. It was also evident that a large number of potential local employers were not aware of the benefits of hiring the CYS graduates. Greater involvement of college students and recent graduates in the community projects would increase retention. It is proposed that each of the SW Florida cities should develop policies that will make them more attractive to the graduates. They should also identify ways of increasing awareness of opportunities available for the graduates in the region
How English-Speaking Teachers Can Create a Welcoming Environment that Allows Students to Maintain and Utilize their Language through Translanguaging: A Qualitative Case Study
Get PDFThis study analyzed how English-speaking teachers created a welcoming environment to allow students to maintain and utilize their first language through translanguaging in a high school class of English-language learners. This case study applied funds of knowledge as a theoretical framework to focus on how a ninth-grade class with two qualified English language arts teachers acquired new knowledge using five types of funds of knowledge: academic and personal background knowledge, accumulated life experiences, world views, and skills in an Urban-Multicultural Classroom. In a year-long effort, the researcher interviewed teachers and students, took field notes, collected instructional planning documents, and photographed students’ artifacts. The findings show that students grew in their construction of self-identity, developed their proficiency in two languages, and flourished in their multicultural competency while earning good grades
Linguistic Landscape in Educational Spaces
Get PDFEducational institutions, whether privately owned or state funded, are a meeting place for students coming from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Educational institutions as learning environments and spaces not only play a fundamental role in the development of an individual, but also perpetuate various ideologies related to languages, politics, cultures, and society among others. In relation to language ideology, linguistic landscape is a novel field which allows sociolinguists to analyze how spaces are constituted through the language(s) employed in public signage as signs enable a dynamic process in which the language(s) used in these signs and those who pass by said signs influence each other to shape the landscape of their community. It enables the identification of the relative power and vitality of the language(s) in a particular community that may or may not appear in public signage. Language(s) displayed in public spaces can also be interpreted as a reflection of the ideological conflicts within a community. Respectively, there is a growing interest towards the study of the linguistic landscape in educational spaces, also known as schoolscape. School, a central civic institution, represents a deliberate and planned environment where learners are subjected to powerful messages about language(s) from local and national authorities. Accordingly, by reviewing past studies, this paper proposes to initiate discussion and investigation of the practices and the language(s) utilized in signs within educational spaces in the United States as institutions can perpetuate language ideologies, which can either foster or hinder bilingual education
What Does “Education” Mean: Cultural Values in Educational Language
Get PDFThis article will advocate for the use of Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) Theory to research cultural values in Education. It will demonstrate how NSM research can be conducted as it provides explications for the word education. NSM is a research agenda that has identified 65 semantic primes, words that are found in every language of the world and which cannot be defined in terms of any simpler words. If you try to break down a semantic prime like good, you might describe it in terms of words like “positive, pleasing, valued,” all of which turn out to be more complex than good itself. Because primes cannot be decomposed and are universal to every language and every culture, they provide a basis for carrying out cross-linguistic comparisons of meaning and for identifying the cultural perspectives that inform our language and its thought structures. More complicated words, the bulk of any language, are social constructs that are culturally laden, providing deep insights into the way a society thinks
Language in Educational Contexts
Get PDFThe purpose of this special issue is to provide a space for scholars to disseminate theory and research about the influence of language in educational contexts. In this issue, we curated articles that address topics related to how language serves as a defining or decisive factor in education and schooling. In our introduction to this special issue, we provide an interpretive overview of the articles and offer an explanation of their relevance for understanding the complex nature of contemporary education. Salient topics include: critical analysis of discourse, linguistic landscapes, Natural Semantic Metalanguage, language ideology, politics and educational funding, funds of knowledge/identity, and definitional caveats related to language learning pedagogies in divergent contexts
The cultural dimensions of information use: A focus on the experience of Emirati students in higher education
Get PDFUpon transitioning to higher education, Emirati students bring their cultural values and sentiments into the teaching and learning environment. Using the Explanatory Sequential component of the mixed methods approach, this research focused on Emirati students enrolled in higher education. The exploration of national culture revealed insights into how information use is experienced. This research provides empirical data contributing to the discussion of how culture intersects with information use in higher education. New contributions underpin the relationship between culture and information use. They also support the design and implementation of pedagogical approaches that recognize the cultural diversity of learners