10 Oct2023
By Kathy McDonough, Sonia Nieto, Valerie Hill-Jackson and Cheryl Craig
On the occasion of AACTE’s 75 years of transforming teacher education, and in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent challenges to race-conscious policies for college admissions, co-editors Valerie Hill-Jackson and Cheryl Craig of the Journal of Teacher Education (JTE) seize the opportunity to offer an issue dedicated to equity.
With the expertise of Kathy McDonough and Sonia Nieto as guest editors, this groundbreaking publication attempts to “Place Equity Front and Center” in Teacher Education in a Time of Crisis. The issue begins with an editorial that (a) reviews the long history of injustice in the United States over four centuries, (b) reconsiders major cultural shifts since the start of the 21st century that impact teacher education specifically and education more broadly, and (c) highlights the promising pedagogies for responsibly bringing equity to the fore in teacher preparation classrooms.
Inside the issue, a powerhouse compilation of eight peer-reviewed articles is representative of novel research — on topics ranging from equity and teacher dispositions to equity and technology — by thoughtful and committed scholars. Issue four, of volume 74 of JTE, affirms that equity is the bedrock of teacher education, so it leans into a timely conversation on the topic. It’s a must-read collection for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers for the field of teacher education. Access the issue.
09 Oct2023
The School of Education and Human Development will lead research to support future educators.
By Ruben Hidalgo
This article was originally published by Texas A&M Today.
Texas A&M University will address the demand for teachers in Texas with the help of a $3 million Hispanic Serving Institution capacity-building grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
Through the five-year grant, the School of Education and Human Development (SEHD) will lead the development and assessment of a pilot program to recruit, mentor, and retain students who want to major in education or human resource development.
During the pilot, SEHD will provide its expertise in academic coaching, advising and essential services as well as partner with academic units and divisions across the campus, including the Division of Student Affairs and the Department of Admissions and Undergraduate Recruitment and Outreach.
26 Sep2023
By Eugene Pringle, Jr.
This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news outlet focused on education and is reprinted with permission.
In the last few years, the American education system has been bludgeoned by changes that have upended decades of progress toward better academic, economic and social outcomes for all.
Politicians around the country have been aiming to demolish progressive policies by targeting teaching about race and ethnicity, the LGBTQIA+ community and women’s reproductive rights. Calls for book banning and censorship have become common. These dangerous culture wars will wreak havoc on education and education policy for years to come.
As a teacher and school-based leader, I always understood the necessity of advocating for students and helping them navigate life, and I tried to help other teachers change the trajectory of many lives.
20 Sep2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
Last week, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced Nash County Public Schools in North Carolina entered into a resolution agreement to ensure compliance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 with respect to responding to reports of sexual harassment and when enforcing its dress code.
The complaint alleged that during the first week of the 2022-23 school year, an individual posted on social media an anonymous threat of sexual violence against freshman girls at a district high school and that the district was aware of the posting but did not respond consistent with Title IX. Additionally, OCR’s investigation discovered the school held an assembly only for girls, without holding an assembly for boys, to address dress code compliance. During that assembly, the district communicated to the girls that they were “opening the door” to harassment with their manner of dress and then “wonder why they [boys] disrespect you.”
22 Aug2023
By Aaron Burgin
Virginia Loh-Hagan is involved in the Asian American Education Project, which offers resources to teach and learn often overlooked history of Asian Americans. (Aaron Burgin/SDSU)
This article was originally published by the San Diego State University News Center.
On campus, Virginia Loh-Hagan is known as an educator and an advocate who impacts scores of students as director of SDSU’s Asian Pacific Islander and Desi-American (APIDA) Center.
Beyond the walls of San Diego State, Loh-Hagan’s combined passions for education and Asian American advocacy could impact millions of America’s youngest learners.
She is the co-executive director and curriculum director of The Asian American Education Project (AAEdu), which creates and provides curriculum and professional development for K-12 schools — offering a more comprehensive and accurate look at APIDA history.
01 Aug2023
By Lightning Jay
Lightning Jay was awarded the 2023 James D. Anderson Outstanding Dissertation Award for his work, “Imagining classrooms: A comparative case study of pedagogy and learning in teacher education” during this year’s AACTE Annual Meeting in Indiana. In this article, Jay provides a summary of his award-winning dissertation and how the research contributes to teacher education and supports policies that invest in the profession.
AACTE is currently accepting nominations for the 2024 James D. Anderson Outstanding Dissertation Award. The deadline has been extended to Friday, August 11. Learn more and submit an entry.
Bio: Lightning Jay is an assistant professor in Binghamton University’s Department of Teaching, Learning, and Educational Leadership. Before coming to Binghamton, Lightning taught middle and high school history in Brooklyn, NY and Minneapolis, MN and earned his doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania. His research works at the intersection of social studies and teacher education. His interests include making teacher education more authentic, responsive, and effective, preparing teachers to lead ambitious discussions of history that promote thinking about the difficult past, and supporting students in thinking historically and historiographically.
01 Aug2023
By Amanda Wilkerson and Shalander Samuels
Education has undergone significant transformations. This is evident when we consider the revisionist account of American history regarding slavery and the adjustments to the curriculum in Florida as an illustration. These changes motivated by ideological incoherence threaten to test educators’ professional fortitude regarding reactions to curricular challenges, book bans, and the discursive molding of parent engagement in education. For this reason, we focus our discussion on conceptualizations of remaining professionally vigilant. That is to say, although the field of education has been subjected to some of the most devastating assaults, we consider these dynamics for review: Asserting our unwavering determination to preeminence in the domain of education, questioning the harmful ideas about curriculum, and building the next generation of educational leaders.
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.
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.
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.
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.
29 May2023
By Kelly Coash Johnson
We know the educator shortage is a national crisis. To promote conversations across traditional silos, the American Association of School Personnel Administrators (AASPA) convened PK-20 stakeholders, including AACTE, to discuss educator workforce and pipeline shortages at the annual National Educator Shortage Summit. The results of this gathering are represented in a whitepaper entitled 5 Shifts for Addressing the Educators Shortage.
This white paper moves beyond surface-level responses to examine deeper, systemic issues that contribute to mismatches between educator supply and demand. Five comprehensive shifts are presented in contrast to traditional calls to action. A discussion of each shift contains high-level recommendations, along with examples of actions that different stakeholder groups can take to address the educator shortage.
25 Apr2023
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, the Texas State Senate approved a bill that would largely restrict how the state’s public universities can promote equitable access to higher education and cultivate diversity among students, faculty and staff. The bill, SB17, would require universities to close their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices; ban any mandatory training surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion; and eliminate the completion of diversity statements as part of the hiring process.
