03 Aug2023
By Megan Simpson
This article was originally published by Austin Peay State University.
A group of faculty members from Austin Peay State University’s Eriksson College of Education traveled to France this summer as part of a three-year, $300,000 International Research Experience for Students (IRES) grant from the National Science Foundation. The team, consisting of John McConnell, Philip Short and Donna Short, arrived in June to evaluate Austin Peay STEM students participating in the program at the University of Rennes.
The University of Rennes, in Rennes, France, along with the two other European universities participating, specialize in nano and glass technology. As part of the experience, six Austin Peay students conduct research and learn from experts in these fields each year. The students also gain valuable cultural experience throughout their seven weeks in Europe.
02 Aug2023
By Brooke Evans
As part of AACTE’s Longview Foundation-supported Global Education Faculty PLC Professional Learning Series, on Friday, August 25, from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET, you are invited to learn more about AACTE’s globally minded awards. The webinar, Award-Winning Best Practices in Globalizing Teacher Education, will take a closer look at the 2023 award-winning best practices from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana and the Rutgers Graduate School of Education.
The webinar will also review the criteria and application for the Best Practice Award in Support of Global and International Perspectives and the Best Practice Award in Support of Multicultural Education and Diversity.
01 Aug2023
By University of Pittsburgh College of Education
This article was originally published by the University of Pittsburgh College of Education.
Students from Pittsburgh Public Schools will benefit from the new initiative
The University of Pittsburgh School of Education is launching a paid summer academy for high school seniors as part of a new initiative to bring more Black teachers to Pittsburgh Public Schools. The academy will complement The Pittsburgh Promise’s Advancing Educators of Color (AEC) Scholarship, which seeks to add 35 Black educators to the district over seven years.
“The importance of Black educators cannot be overstated,” says Valerie Kinloch, Professor and Renée and Richard Goldman Endowed Dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Education. “However, statewide, Black educators comprise less than 4% of the teacher population in K-12 public and charter schools. Our new summer academy program will ensure that our students not only get to college but are supported along the way.”
25 Jul2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
The “In the States” feature by Kaitlyn Brennan is a weekly update to keep members informed on state-level activities impacting the education and educator preparation community.
Last week, education officials in Florida approved new standards for teaching African American history. The standards are being considered by many as an effort to “purposefully omit or rewrite key historical facts about the Black experience.” Embedded within the standards is instruction on “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit” and lessons that touch on acts of violence perpetrated “against and by” African Americans. Additionally, Black history lessons for younger students require students to only recognize Black investors and artists. A Florida teacher who expressed concerns surrounding students only having to recognize such individuals saying, “As a teacher, we focus on the verb in the standards, and these are the lowest level of cognitive rigor.”
The Florida Education Association submitted a letter in opposition of the standards to the Florida Board of Education, saying in part:
“Today — in the year 2023, we stand as a diverse coalition demanding you adhere to the law and adopt standards that require the instruction of history, culture, experiences, and contributions of African Americans in the state’s K-12 curriculum as directed in FS 1003.42. We owe the next generation of scholars the opportunity to know the full unvarnished history of this state and country and all who contributed to it — good and bad.”
The new standards are backed unanimously by the state Board of Education and encompass the “anti-woke” policies touted by Republican Governor and Presidential Candidate Ron Desantis.
18 Jul2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
The “In the States” feature by Kaitlyn Brennan is a weekly update to keep members informed on state-level activities impacting the education and educator preparation community.
Earlier this month, The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that the Rhinelander School District in Rhinelander, Wisconsin entered into an agreement to ensure compliance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 when responding to harassment based on gender identity.
The investigation by OCR found that during the 2021-22 school year, a nonbinary student and their parent reported to the district that students repeatedly mocked and targeted the student during multiple classes, while multiple teachers repeatedly used incorrect pronouns for the student and one teacher removed the student from class on the ground that the teacher could not protect the student from harassment by the other students.
11 Jul2023
By Brooke Evans
Our interconnected, global society highlights the importance of globally competent teaching to help students make sense of complex topics and issues worldwide and prepare young people for global citizenship. As part of AACTE’s Global Education Faculty PLC Professional Development Series, on Thursday, July 27, from 2:00 –3:00 p.m. ET, you are invited to learn about tools and strategies designed to help embed global education within K-12 classrooms. The webinar, Innovative Best Practices for Embedding Global Education in K-12 Classrooms, is for educators interested in developing students’ global competencies through classroom and community approaches. The goal is to showcase examples of pedagogy, practice, and actions teachers can employ with students in developing global competencies.
06 Jul2023
By Tunara Moore
A reminder that the prestigious James D. Anderson Outstanding Dissertation Award nomination period is quickly approaching. As the leading voice on educator preparation, AACTE is dedicated to recognizing excellence in our member institutions and the individuals who have made remarkable contributions to the field.
Learn more about the Dissertation Award, and submit your nomination by July 28. All other award nominations are due by September 1. This is your chance to shine a spotlight on the remarkable programs, practices, writing, research, and achievements that shape the future of educator preparation.
29 Jun2023
By AACTE
Since its founding in 1948, AACTE (American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education) has been committed to advancing the field of educator preparation and ensuring that those preparing to be teachers, principals, and other professional educators represent the diversity of the children they educate. Today’s Supreme Court of the United States decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard University is contrary to our collective efforts to build an educator workforce that is diverse and representative.
Diversity in the college student population is important to recruiting a cadre of teachers, principals, and other education professionals who reflect the diversity of the K-12 student population. Today, 79% of public school teachers identify as white while the majority of public school students are students of color.
26 Jun2023
By Nicole Dunn
Pride month is more than a celebration; it’s an opportunity to reignite the fight for equality within the LGBTQ+ community and other historically marginalized communities in allyship with all those who believe that our P-20 schools should be safe and inclusive spaces for all youth. As Pride Month comes to a close, AACTE is sharing its updated toolkit, Resources to Support LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Ed Prep and P-20 Schools, which can be found on AACTE’s Racial and Social Justice Hub.
16 Jun2023
By Nicole Dunn
On June 19, 1865, the emancipation of enslaved Black people in the United States was realized when Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, to enforce the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation for these citizens. The newly freed people called this day “Juneteenth.” Also known as Emancipation Day, Juneteenth is the commemorations of Black and African American people in the United States seizing their freedom that was denied to them despite their contributions to the growth of the nation’s economy and culture. While organizations around the country, including AACTE, will close their offices to give time to celebrate, reflect, and appreciate this history, more than half of the states in the country have introduced or passed legislation to prohibit teaching about structural racism, and you cannot fully teach and appreciate Juneteenth without acknowledging structural racism.
15 Jun2023
By Cole Hatcher
This article was originally published by Ohio Wesleyan University.
Ohio Wesleyan University’s Sarah Kaka, Ph.D., has testified before Ohio lawmakers, collaborated on research, and presented to peers on the impact of so-called “divisive concepts” teaching laws now adopted in more than half of the nation.
The chair of OWU’s Department of Education, Kaka also has been discussing the topic with multiple media, including The Columbus Dispatch, Education Week, and the “TeachLab with Justin Reich” podcast.
“I think it depends on who you talk to what they say the goal of the legislation is,” Kaka told Reich during their June 8 podcast, “but the reality is that all of the laws – divisive issues concepts – seek to limit what teachers can say or do in their classes.”
06 Jun2023
By Christine Gentry
With the crucial need for diverse representation and inclusivity in education, two innovative teachers are making an impact in their fields of teaching. I had the pleasure of working with Linden, a science educator from Boston, and Bill, an English language arts teacher in San Francisco, during their residency years spanning from 2017 to 2020.
In honoring trans/nonbinary educators, I captured our discussions, highlighting key themes on the challenges and opportunities they have faced, as well as how they have both transformed their classrooms into safe and supportive spaces for their students.
09 May2023
By Taraneh M. Haghanikar
This blog article is part of the Global Education Faculty PLC Professional Development Series, sponsored by the Longview Foundation. The writing series aims to elevate the perspectives of international scholars — including teacher educators, graduate students, and alike — to offer insights into how Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs) can integrate intercultural understanding within their programs. AACTE members interested in participating in the series should contact AACTE’s Brooke Evans.
Incorporating diversity into the curriculum has never been more relevant or necessary.
Culturally competent teaching begins with acknowledging and embracing the considerable diversity students bring to the classroom and it builds on the culturally relevant literature utilized in teaching. However, teachers with minimum or no prior diversity experience are less likely to make informed decisions in their book selection. Failure to properly design inclusive lesson plans could create and maintain misunderstanding between teachers and students, further contributing to the cultural gap between them.
09 May2023
By Nicholas D. Hartlep and Rachel Endo
In honor of AANHPI Heritage Month, Asian American leaders in educator preparation programs (EPPS) Rachel Endo and Nicholas D. Hartlep, share their collective experiences that caused their interest in collaborating on researching and writing a critical inquiry paper that explores the experiences of current and former Asian American leaders in EPPs in the United States. Endo is dean of the School of Education at the University of Washington, Tacoma and Hartlep is chair of the Education Studies Department at Berea College.
Our paper seeks to answer the following questions:
- What are the intersecting social identity markers within the current pool of Asian American leaders?
- How do Asian/American EPP leaders describe their trajectory into leadership positions?
01 May2023
By Nicole Dunn
In May, AACTE joins together with cultural institutions, school districts, municipalities, state legislatures, public servants, and non-profit organizations around the country to celebrate the immeasurable contributions of the Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Heritage (AANHPI) community and recommit to the work of making sure that all people have the opportunity to be a part of the nation’s exceptional and equitable education system. AACTE encourage members to share the history, culture, and achievements of those who identify as AANHPI in their classrooms and on their campuses in observance of AANHPI Heritage Month.
