Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Education Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 21 of 21

Full-Text Articles in Education

Moving Toward Critical Political Education With Elementary Preservice Teachers. A Response To “The Impact Of Polarization On The Political Engagement Of Generation Z Elementary Preservice Teachers And Their Teaching", Sara B. Demoiny May 2023

Moving Toward Critical Political Education With Elementary Preservice Teachers. A Response To “The Impact Of Polarization On The Political Engagement Of Generation Z Elementary Preservice Teachers And Their Teaching", Sara B. Demoiny

Democracy and Education

In “The Impact of Polarization on the Political Engagement of Generation Z Elementary Preservice Teachers and Their Teaching,” Keegan and Vaughan engaged with questions of preparing Gen Z, elementary preservice teachers (PSTs) in political education. Their much-needed study confirmed the continued call for social studies teacher educators to cultivate critical, civically active elementary PSTs who will intentionally attend to political education in the classroom. In this response, I situate Keegan and Vaughan's findings in white discomfort (Zembylas, 2018) as a way to consider a path forward in elementary teacher preparation, moving from a centering of white PSTs’ individual responses to …


The Impact Of Polarization On The Political Engagement Of Generation Z Elementary Preservice Teachers And Their Teaching, Patrick Keegan, Kelly P. Vaughan May 2023

The Impact Of Polarization On The Political Engagement Of Generation Z Elementary Preservice Teachers And Their Teaching, Patrick Keegan, Kelly P. Vaughan

Democracy and Education

This instrumental case study of Generation Z preservice teachers enrolled in elementary teaching methods courses in social studies and literacy explores the impact of polarization on their political engagement and teaching. Using the 2020 presidential election as a teachable moment, participants developed and taught literacy-infused civics units in order to bring to light their understandings of their role in preparing elementary students as political actors. This study has important implications for how teacher educators can better facilitate elementary preservice teachers’ own political engagement, thereby ensuring equitable democratic learning opportunities for students.


Towards Pre-Service Teachers’ Theory-Praxis Nexus In Early Years English And Literacy Education: A Pilot Study, Maryanne Pale, Sarah Ohi, Lyn Kee Jan 2023

Towards Pre-Service Teachers’ Theory-Praxis Nexus In Early Years English And Literacy Education: A Pilot Study, Maryanne Pale, Sarah Ohi, Lyn Kee

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

International literature highlights that a perennial challenge for initial teacher educators is to guide Pre-Service Teachers (PSTs) to develop a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between theory and practice. Whilst there is a growing body of research that examines the relationship and/or the gap between theory and practice in teacher education, there remains a paucity of research that examines this phenomenon in the teaching of English and literacy units in higher education. This pilot study examined how PSTs from two Australian universities made connections and/or links (nexus) between their academic knowledge (theory) and professional experience (praxis) for the teaching of …


Pandemic As Portal: Disrupting The Violence Of Epistemicide In Teacher Education, Ramon Vasquez Nov 2022

Pandemic As Portal: Disrupting The Violence Of Epistemicide In Teacher Education, Ramon Vasquez

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

Epistemicide involves more than just the accidental displacement of different knowledges. By its very nature, epistemicide involves the intentional silencing, devaluing, and violent destruction of knowledge systems (Mignolo, 2007). While much has been written about radically altering education by including other knowledge in schools, what this entails within the context of teacher education methods courses, particularly during the pandemic, has received less attention. This paper examines and discusses what creating another teacher education might involve by probing some of the spaces and openings for epistemic disobedience exposed and made visible during the pandemic. My conceptualization of another teacher education simultaneously …


A Glimpse Behind The Curtain: The Detailed Structure Of The May Literacy Center, A University-Based Literacy Clinic, Brian M. Flores, Amber Meyer Nov 2022

A Glimpse Behind The Curtain: The Detailed Structure Of The May Literacy Center, A University-Based Literacy Clinic, Brian M. Flores, Amber Meyer

Journal of Research Initiatives

Literacy centers have existed in the United States since the 1920s and have seen many changes over their vast and essential history. Initially, clinics focused on remediation with a deficit view that positioned struggling readers as lazy and unmotivated. Over time, clinics shifted to a medical model, which also held a deficit view that involved pathologizing, testing, and diagnosing to "fix what was wrong" with the struggling reader. Today, university-based reading clinics focus on research-based literacy practices providing opportunities for undergraduate teacher candidates and graduate students to support struggling readers. Research on literacy clinics primarily focused on funding, student demographics, …


A Call For A Third Wave Of Ethnic Studies Curriculum. A Book Review Of Transformative Ethnic Studies In Schools: Curriculum, Pedagogy, & Research, Robert G. Unzueta Ii May 2021

A Call For A Third Wave Of Ethnic Studies Curriculum. A Book Review Of Transformative Ethnic Studies In Schools: Curriculum, Pedagogy, & Research, Robert G. Unzueta Ii

Democracy and Education

Transformative Ethnic Studies in Schools: Curriculum, Pedagogy, & Research calls on our faculty, educators, community members, students, activists, and allies to usher in the third wave of ethnic studies curriculum into compulsory school conversation. At the center of ethnic studies curriculum, according to the authors, is a push for the humanization of our most dehumanized students in our society. At a time when institutions are grappling with how to move forward in response to the multiple national pandemics, this text offers a practical, sustainable, and evidence-based research, why we need ethnic studies curriculum in every classroom, including STEM.


Creating A Democratic Mathematics Classroom: The Interplay Of The Rights And Responsibilities Of The Learner, Priya V. Prasad, Crystal Kalinec-Craig May 2021

Creating A Democratic Mathematics Classroom: The Interplay Of The Rights And Responsibilities Of The Learner, Priya V. Prasad, Crystal Kalinec-Craig

Democracy and Education

One way in which democratic classrooms can reflect a democracy is by guaranteeing students some inalienable rights; Kalinec-Craig (2017) outlined Olga Torres’s Rights of the Learner (Torres’s RotL) in mathematics classrooms. However, democracies rely not only on citizens’ rights, but on their willingness to take up certain responsibilities as well. We extend this idea to mathematics classrooms to explore the consequences of the interplay of learners’ rights and responsibilities, in the context of the preparation of elementary mathematics teachers. In addition, we explore ways in which learners may overexercise their rights of the learner or opt out of exercising them …


Targeted Teacher Education To Improve Primary Preservice Teachers’ Knowledge And Understanding Of Uv And Effective Sun Protection Measures For Children, Joseph J. Scott, Robyn S. Johnston, Natasha Bear, Sonia Gregory, Sally Blane, Mark Strickland, Jill Darby, Elin S. Gray Jan 2021

Targeted Teacher Education To Improve Primary Preservice Teachers’ Knowledge And Understanding Of Uv And Effective Sun Protection Measures For Children, Joseph J. Scott, Robyn S. Johnston, Natasha Bear, Sonia Gregory, Sally Blane, Mark Strickland, Jill Darby, Elin S. Gray

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Teachers are responsible for children at school during peak ultraviolet (UV) times of the day. It is paramount that teachers have knowledge and understanding of UV to effectively protect themselves and their students. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the effect of a short intervention on preservice teachers’ sun protective behaviours, knowledge and perceived skill to teach sun safety. Participants (n =161; median age=20 years) attended a 45-minute preservice teacher sun safety intervention and completed pre- and post-test surveys. Post-intervention, most participants indicated they felt: i) more informed about the dangers of UV and risks of developing …


The Value Of Conflict And Disagreement In Democratic Teacher Education, Kiel F. Harell May 2020

The Value Of Conflict And Disagreement In Democratic Teacher Education, Kiel F. Harell

Democracy and Education

Deliberative democracy surfaces disagreements so that people holding conflicting stances understand each other’s reasons for the purpose of decision-making. Democratic education approaches should provide students with the opportunity to learn and practice how to address conflict in the collective decision-making process. In this paper, I examine the Foxfire Course for Teachers, a professional development retreat in which teachers learn to practice democratic teaching by themselves experiencing democratic decision-making. In particular, a series of disagreements among course participants is analyzed in detail to understand the learning that resulted and the conditions that supported that learning. As a result of this experiential …


Responding To Student Teachers' Fears: How We're Adjusting During The Covid-19 Shutdowns, Jeremy Delamarter, Mary Ewart Jan 2020

Responding To Student Teachers' Fears: How We're Adjusting During The Covid-19 Shutdowns, Jeremy Delamarter, Mary Ewart

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

The COVID-19 epidemic has wrought havoc on both K-12 education and teacher preparation, to say nothing of society in general. For many of our candidates, the normal fears and anxieties that surround student teaching have been magnified to the point of that even our most promising student teachers feel overwhelmed and panicked. In this article, we reflect on the need for teacher educators to acknowledge and respond to their candidates' fears. We outline some of the individual, pedagogical, and programmatic adjustments that we have made in wake of the COVID shutdowns. We conclude by acknowledging that these adjustments are part …


Lessons Learned From The British: The Liverpool Project, Claudia J. Mcvicker Jan 2019

Lessons Learned From The British: The Liverpool Project, Claudia J. Mcvicker

Educational Considerations

Universities around the country are beginning to feel the need to add a global dimension to their programs. One way to prepare teachers to address the challenges associated with teaching children in a global age is through carefully structured, international study abroad where the candidates are immersed in another culture and school system. This article seeks to demonstrate how a successful Teacher Education study abroad program can develop and transform pre-service candidates’ global perspective. This qualitative study was informed by the use of journal writing to prompts by ninety-six teacher education students over three different summers to learn about the …


Lost In Translation, Kara M. Kavanagh Apr 2018

Lost In Translation, Kara M. Kavanagh

Dilemmas in Education: A Casebook for Ethical Reasoning

The majority of teachers in America would expect to and be prepared to teach the svastika symbol in relations to Nazi Germany, Hitler, the Holocaust, and as a symbol of White supremacy groups and hatred towards anyone who is not Blonde Haired and Blue Eyed. What would happen then, if a student doodled the svastika for fun or as an art project not related to the history or social studies curriculum?


The Rights Of The Learner: A Framework For Promoting Equity Through Formative Assessment In Mathematics Education, Crystal A. Kalinec-Craig Dec 2017

The Rights Of The Learner: A Framework For Promoting Equity Through Formative Assessment In Mathematics Education, Crystal A. Kalinec-Craig

Democracy and Education

An elementary mathematics teacher once argued that she and her students held four Rights of the Learner in the classroom: (1) the right to be confused; (2) the right to claim a mistake; (3) the right to speak, listen and be heard; and (4) the right to write, do, and represent only what makes sense. Written as an emerging framework to promote equity in the mathematics classroom through divergent formative assessment, the RotL assumes that students can take more explicit ownership of their learning, both in writing and in oral communication. Foregrounded in the literature, this paper discusses how the …


The Western Sydney Rustbelt: Recognizing And Building On Strengths In Pre-Service Teacher Education, Loshini Naidoo, Jacqueline Ann D'Warte Jan 2017

The Western Sydney Rustbelt: Recognizing And Building On Strengths In Pre-Service Teacher Education, Loshini Naidoo, Jacqueline Ann D'Warte

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Preparing pre-service teachers to address the disparities in educational attainment that occur in settings with complex demographics such as high poverty and super diversity (Vertovec, 2007) require a theoretically driven contextual and spacial (Soja, 1996) understanding of disadvantage. This understanding highlights the structural and systemic inequalities that exist between the rich and the poor and limit social and economic mobility for disadvantaged students in schools. This paper uses a conceptual and spacial understanding to focus on the strategies implemented by a primary and secondary pre-service teacher program to support and improve pre-service teacher learning of disadvantaged schools. We detail approaches …


Teacher And School Characteristics: Predictors Of Student Achievement In Georgia Public Schools, Alisande F. Mayer, Ellen W. Wiley, Larry P. Wiley, Dianne C. Dees, Simmie A. Raiford Jul 2016

Teacher And School Characteristics: Predictors Of Student Achievement In Georgia Public Schools, Alisande F. Mayer, Ellen W. Wiley, Larry P. Wiley, Dianne C. Dees, Simmie A. Raiford

Georgia Educational Researcher

Student achievement of fifth-grade students in 106 Georgia public schools in CRCT reading and mathematics was examined as a function of five characteristics of teachers and schools. The five independent variables used as predictors of CRCT scores were Title I status, teachers’ education level, teachers’ average years of experience, class size, and computer to student ratio. Designation as a Title I school was the strongest predictor of student achievement. When compared to non-Title I schools, Title I school status resulted in a higher percentage of students meeting CRCT standards in both reading and math and a lower percentage of students …


Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions Of Students With Learning Disabilities: Using Mixed Methods To Examine Effectiveness Of Special Education Coursework, Renée A. Greenfield, Megan Mackey, Gretchen Nelson Feb 2016

Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions Of Students With Learning Disabilities: Using Mixed Methods To Examine Effectiveness Of Special Education Coursework, Renée A. Greenfield, Megan Mackey, Gretchen Nelson

The Qualitative Report

As the number of K-12 students with learning disabilities educated in general education classrooms grow, it is essential to examine the preparation and perceptions of pre-service teachers (N=15) who will educate students with learning disabilities. Within the context of an undergraduate learning disabilities method course, this study examined how pre-service teachers perceived students with learning disabilities as well as the effectiveness of particular course experiences, including fieldwork with students with learning disabilities, video vignettes, lesson planning, assigned reading, and center-based instruction, in shifting perceptions. Using a convergent, mixed method design, teacher educators at a university in the northeast used surveys, …


The Value Of Student Choice In Reading. A Book Review Of Keep Them Reading: An Anti-Censorship Handbook For Educators, Christi R. Keelen Apr 2015

The Value Of Student Choice In Reading. A Book Review Of Keep Them Reading: An Anti-Censorship Handbook For Educators, Christi R. Keelen

Democracy and Education

Keep Them Reading: An Anti-Censorship Handbooks for Educators is a must-have for elementary and secondary English and reading teachers, administrators, and librarians or media specialists. While the focus for this text is how to handle and avoid challenges on books, how to create an environment where reading is important and the students' ability to choose what they want to read is part of the classroom culture is also addressed.


Limiting Student Speech: A Narrow Path Toward Success. A Response To "Challenging The Common Guidelines In Social Justice Education", Marissa C A Minnick Apr 2015

Limiting Student Speech: A Narrow Path Toward Success. A Response To "Challenging The Common Guidelines In Social Justice Education", Marissa C A Minnick

Democracy and Education

In this response, Minnick asserts that unequal representation of students' voices, an idea presented in Sensoy and DiAngelo’s “Challenging the Common Guidelines in Social Justice Education,” presents multiple negative classroom implications. Foremost, Minnick argues that Sensoy and DiAngelo’s lack of clarity regarding when a teacher should limit student speech (either before the student begins to talk or midcomment) has a large effect on the success of their strategy. Second, Sensoy and DiAngelo’s discussion strategy may result in the targeting of minority students and the judging of students. These concerns are driven by considerations of how teachers’ relationships with students influence …


Should Educators Be ‘Wrapping School Playgrounds In Cotton Wool’ To Encourage Physical Activity? Exploring Primary And Secondary Students’ Voices From The School Playground, Brendon P. Hyndman, Amanda Telford Jan 2015

Should Educators Be ‘Wrapping School Playgrounds In Cotton Wool’ To Encourage Physical Activity? Exploring Primary And Secondary Students’ Voices From The School Playground, Brendon P. Hyndman, Amanda Telford

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Physical activity in school playgrounds has changed considerably over recent decades to reflect a climate of ‘surplus safety’. A growing culture of surplus safety can be attributed to a desire of parents and teachers responsible for children to protect school students from danger. The aim of this research was to examine students’ perceptions of playground safety influences on physical activity during school breaks from the perspectives of the ‘users’ of school playgrounds. Data collection consisted of seven focus groups (4 primary school & 3 secondary school) conducted across four schools (2 primary & 2 secondary). During this study, the focus …


Toward Resonant, Imaginative Experiences In Ecological And Democratic Education. A Response To "Imagination And Experience: An Integrative Framework", Michael Derby, Sean Blenkinsop, John Telford, Laura Piersol, Michael Caulkins Oct 2013

Toward Resonant, Imaginative Experiences In Ecological And Democratic Education. A Response To "Imagination And Experience: An Integrative Framework", Michael Derby, Sean Blenkinsop, John Telford, Laura Piersol, Michael Caulkins

Democracy and Education

In this response to Fettes's "Imagination and Experience," the authors further consider the varieties of educational experience that inspire ecological flourishing and a living democracy. The essential interconnectedness of encounter-driven and language-driven ways of knowing are explored with particular reference to the authors' involvement in a research project at an innovative elementary school in British Columbia, Canada.


Resisting The Neoliberal Ambush Of Public Education. A Book Review Of Educational Courage: Resisting The Ambush Of Public Education, Brandy S. Wilson May 2013

Resisting The Neoliberal Ambush Of Public Education. A Book Review Of Educational Courage: Resisting The Ambush Of Public Education, Brandy S. Wilson

Democracy and Education

This is a review of the book Educational Courage: Resisting the Ambush of Public Education.