Teacher Education

Teaching in PreK-12 classrooms requires not only pedagogical knowledge and field-related skill, but also creativity, flexibility, and responsiveness. Teachers, as lifelong learners and as leaders in education, must make sense of curricula, policies, research, and evidence in order to guide and shape their practices in unique and diverse contexts. How teachers make use of these “best practice” guides varies — there is no one-size-fits-all program or method that can be picked up and applied without classroom teachers’ localized and reflective contextualization. Designed for use by preservice teachers, experienced educators, mentors and coaches, school leaders, and teacher preparation faculty, Recognizing “Best Practices” as Locally Situated calls teachers into their power to disrupt, transform, and lead towards change in PreK-12 schools. This volume makes visible the critical work teachers engage in daily as they evaluate, interpret, implement, and assess the impact of particular strategies, resources, and approaches in their classrooms. Teachers must iterate on their teaching practice in cycles of continuous learning and reflection toward educational equity and social justice. Recognizing “Best Practices” as Locally Situated celebrates the voices, power, and pedagogical practices of teachers across a variety of content areas and settings, ranging from early childhood to adolescence and from transnational contexts, including multilingual classrooms in the U.S., Lebanon, and Ukraine, along with teacher preparation programs in the U.S. and Europe. Through vignettes, analysis, reflective prompts, lesson plans, resources, and activities, the authors make clear that teachers are agentic, innovative, and adaptive practitioners who translate evidence-based “best practices” into context-specific, responsive, and learner-centered pedagogical moves that build upon the assets of their students to support learning. They invite readers into their (trans)local worlds as readers’ shape and reconfigure their own (trans)local classrooms, schools, and educational ecosystems. Recognizing “Best Practices” as Locally Situated aims to bring together the voices of practitioners across K-12 education to examine their situated and expert testing, adaptation, and refusal of “best practices” within their classrooms and communities. The authors explore a best practice, as housed in this partially archived version of the U.S. Department of Education's Best Practices Clearinghouse or as explicitly named in research or practitioner literature. They explain the ways they have tested, accepted, rejected, modified, or otherwise adapted and contextualized that “best practice” within their own teaching context and with equity, inclusion, diversity, belonging, and social justice in mind. Recognizing “Best Practices” as Locally Situated provides an important overview and critique of currently circulating “best practices” for both novice and experienced educators. It provides classroom-tested pedagogical modes and resources with methodologies for engaging critically with “evidence,” including through generation of new evidence and knowledge bases situated within particular communities, times, places, and policy contexts. As part of Dr. Linsay DeMartino and Dr. Lisa Fetman's book series Demystifying Social Justice Education: Moving from Trendy to Transformative Equity and Justice Practices in Schools, this book aligns through its focus on equity and justice and the dismantling of taken-for-granted or “trendy” practices and policies in education. The collection of texts draws upon the lived experiences of educators, education researchers, community program leaders, and students and families to provide new evidence and as contributions to the literature centering around what is possible in equitable, responsive, belonging, and socially-just education.Perfect for courses such as: Introduction to Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment in Diverse Classrooms; Introduction to Educating For Equity And Social Justice; Cultivating Culturally Responsive Classrooms; Critically Reflective Teaching; Adolescent Identities, Literacies, and Communities; Integrated Content and Language Learning (TESOL/TEFL/Bilingual Ed); Literacy Methods in Multilingual Classrooms; Resisting and Transforming the Purpose of Education: Education for Freedom; Professional Development and Leadership; Inquiry-Based Professional Learning; Introduction to Teacher Leadership And School Improvement

Teacher education, preparation, and professional development form the bedrock of what occurs in U.S. classrooms. Nonetheless, we are facing a teacher crisis on multiple fronts: teacher employment and retention are diminishing as the profession becomes increasingly deprofessionalized. Simultaneously, the majority of U.S. teachers are white, receiving teacher education from predominantly white institutions (PWIs), and are ill-equipped to teach effectively and responsively in our increasingly diverse classrooms. Since the standards movement took hold in the 1990s and gained momentum after the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, education for pre- and in-service teachers has resembled a game of whack-a-mole in which postsecondary educators, academic coaches, school leaders, and professional development companies have formulated teacher education to respond to evolving policy mandates, student performance metrics, support for and rejection of DEI initiatives, and a constant flow of scholarship touting “best practices.” As a result, teacher education that pushes boundaries and the status quo must instead emphasize transformation, liberation, equity, and authentic learning for all students. In Moving from Limited to Liberated Teacher Education, we present nuanced approaches to transforming the education of pre- and in-service teachers, thus impacting PreK-12 at large. The enclosed chapters explore social justice instructional coaching, linguistically responsive academic coaching, transforming student and teacher assessment, preparing justice-oriented content-area teachers, teacher candidate identity and social justice mindset development, transformative action research in teacher preparation, critical professional development for justice, and transformative teacher mentorship. Educators are doing great work that pushes the limits of what is considered “best practices,” be it through advocating for authentic project-based curriculum and assessment over standardized assessments, restorative justice over punitive classroom management, culturally and linguistically responsive teaching over standards-based lesson planning, or instructional coaching that liberates teacher creativity and emphasizes mental health over performance and results. Moving from Limited to Liberated Teacher Education celebrates such practices and provides a roadmap for readers to enact them. Innovative and creative methodologies and practices that educators, educational leaders, and teacher preparation faculty can use right away are the primary focus of Moving from Limited to Liberated Teacher Education. As former or current PreK-12 practitioners, teacher educators, and/or education scholars, editors and contributors tailored the book for a broad educational audience. The editors and contributors provide practicing teachers, pre-service and practicing educational leaders (and mentors and coaches), and teacher educators entry points for transforming the PreK-20+ landscape in favor of liberatory, transformative practices in schools across grade levels, content areas, school types, and geographic regions. This book is ideal for teacher and leadership preparation programs and PreK-12 professional development, guiding readers through theoretical and empirical discussions supported by hands-on applications, and concluding with interactive features like case studies, extension activities, and discussion prompts.Perfect for courses such as: Introduction to Cultivating Culturally Responsive Schools; Introduction to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Schools; Introduction to Supportive School Communities; Introduction To School Improvement; Instructional Coaching for Equity and Justice; Introduction to Transformative Professional Development and Professional Learning Communities; Instructional Leadership for Social Justice; Foundations of Social Justice School Leadership; Foundations of Transformative Leadership

Teaching Through Generational Traumas: Adaptive Practices to Combat Dissociation While Addressing the Impacts of Respectability offers a powerful and timely exploration of what it means to teach, learn, and thrive in higher education while navigating the weight of generational wounds. Written by historian and educator Detrice L. Roberts, this book blends personal reflection, scholarly research, and experience-based classroom practice to uncover how trauma, identity, and resilience shape today’s student experience. At its core, this book challenges the idea that education is only about transmitting knowledge. Instead, Roberts presents the classroom as a space of transformation where students must be equipped not only with intellectual tools but also the social and emotional skills necessary to face the complexities of modern life. Drawing on frameworks including Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), the VARK learning model, and culturally relevant pedagogy, Roberts simultaneously offers instructors and students pathways to recognize identity, manage emotions, and build meaningful and productive connections between past and present. There exists a culture of dissociation amongst students today, but they are more adaptive to learning that incorporates real world engagement that allows for them to actively participate in the learning process. Being able to differentiate instruction relies on our understanding of the types of learners that we have in our classroom and exploring the factors associated with why students are disconnected academically. These very factors can then be addressed and used to enhance student experiences and ability to learn through learner-defined curriculum development. Teaching Through Generational Traumas moves through layered themes reflecting Roberts’s dual perspective as both teacher and learner. Part I situates the conversation historically, acknowledging how generational traumas rooted in slavery, segregation, and systemic racism, continue to impact Black students in higher education. Part II explores the lived experience of respectability politics, dissociation, and the subtle pressures students face to perform identities that do not always align with their authentic selves. Part III shifts to pedagogical innovation, highlighting Roberts’s seven classroom practices: Socratic questioning, storytelling, critical pedagogy, SEL, opening rituals, culturally relevant teaching, and digital humanities. Each practice is illustrated through vivid classroom narratives, emphasizing how teaching strategies can nurture critical thinking while affirming student identity. In the final section, Roberts invites students, educators, and readers alike to consider methods of perpetual growth that extend beyond the classroom. She frames education not as a temporary pursuit, but as a lifelong journey of reflection, resilience, and meaning-making. The book closes with an Ode to the HBCU, honoring the historic and ongoing role of Historically Black Colleges and Universities as sites of cultural affirmation, intergenerational pride, and transformative education. Teaching Through Generational Traumas is a call to reimagine what education can be when it is rooted in empathy, awareness, and liberation. It speaks directly to faculty, administrators, and students at HBCUs and beyond, while also offering insights for those interested in the intersections of history, identity, and pedagogy. This book will resonate with readers who believe that classrooms should be communities of growth, reflection, and belonging. By weaving together scholarship, lived experience, and practical strategies, Roberts demonstrates how we can confront the challenges of dissociation, respectability, and trauma, and instead cultivate spaces where students and instructors learn, heal, and transform together.Perfect for courses such as: Foundations of Education; Teaching and Learning in Higher Education; Culturally Relevant Pedagogy / Multicultural Education; Trauma-Informed Teaching Practices (or Social and Emotional Learning in Schools); African American Educational History; African American History / African Diaspora Studies; Educational Leadership & Policy Studies; Sociology of Education / Education and Society

Digital Age Leadership: Building Effective Multi-Generational Online Teaching Teams is a practical guide for educational and organizational leaders managing diverse, multi-generational teams in online environments. In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, understanding how to lead teams made up of Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z is essential for success. This book provides a framework for understanding generational dynamics, adapting leadership strategies, and building collaborative, high-performing teams in online settings. Each generation brings unique strengths, communication styles, and expectations to the digital classroom, creating both challenges and opportunities for growth. Digital Age Leadership explores how these generational traits influence leadership and team dynamics, providing practical strategies for building trust, bridging gaps, and fostering an inclusive and cohesive team culture. By leveraging the strengths of each generation, leaders can cultivate an environment where all team members thrive. These strategies will empower leaders to implement lasting change within their teams and organizations, ensuring long-term success and growth in the digital age. Drawing from extensive research and real-world experience, Digital Age Leadership serves as both an academic text and a professional development resource. It includes discussion questions, team exercises, and practical scenarios for immediate use, making it ideal for individual growth, team training, and academic course adoption. These elements ensure the book is accessible to educators, administrators, and organizational leaders. The book has proven to be the ultimate resource for leaders who want to build, develop, and sustain high-performing, adaptable teams in the ever-evolving world of online education. Digital Age Leadership: Navigating Multi-Generational Online Teaching Teams will appeal to a wide range of readers. These include educational administrators and corporate leaders responsible for managing online learning and training programs. K-12 online school principals and directors, higher education program administrators, department chairs, and professional development specialists who oversee virtual teaching teams will find great value in the framework presented in the book. The book will also benefit graduate students, faculty in educational leadership and technology programs, and corporate learning leaders managing online training. It targets professionals seeking both theoretical insights and practical tools for leading multi-generational online teaching teams.Perfect for courses such as: Educational Leadership in the Digital Age; Managing Multi-Generational Teams in Higher Education; Online Teaching and Learning Strategies; Leadership in Digital Education Environments; Transformative Leadership in Online Education; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Online Education; Technology Integration and Team Building in Education; Collaborative Learning in Virtual Environments; Building and Leading Remote Educational Teams; Developing Effective Online Teaching Communities

As rural schools across the United States face ongoing teacher shortages, shifting community needs, and increasing demands on educators, the challenge of preparing and sustaining a strong local teacher workforce has become more urgent than ever. In Powering Teacher Apprenticeships: Case Studies on Rural Implementation and System Design, Katie Anderson-Pence presents a compelling and practical exploration of how teacher apprenticeship programs can transform educator preparation in rural communities. Drawing from real-world partnerships and implementation stories, this book examines how rural districts, universities, educators, and community organizations are working together to design apprenticeship pathways that are responsive to local needs and grounded in the strengths of rural places. Through detailed case studies, Anderson-Pence demonstrates that successful teacher apprenticeship programs are not built on one-size-fits-all models, but on collaborative systems that honor community culture, invest in relationships, and support aspiring educators throughout their development. The book highlights the essential components of effective rural apprenticeship systems, including strong mentor preparation, authentic clinical practice, coordinated support structures, braided funding strategies, and partnerships that align university preparation with district priorities. Readers gain insight into how rural schools are leveraging apprenticeship not only as a workforce solution, but as a long-term strategy for cultivating educators who are deeply connected to their communities and prepared for the intellectual, cultural, and emotional realities of teaching in rural settings. At the heart of Powering Teacher Apprenticeships is the idea that thoughtful system design matters. Anderson-Pence illustrates how sustainable apprenticeship pathways emerge when institutions and communities work together to create coherent, flexible, and human-centered models of teacher preparation. The book also offers practical guidance for policymakers and state leaders seeking to strengthen rural educator pipelines through supportive licensing structures, accessible funding models, and policies aligned with apprenticeship learning. For teacher educators, district leaders, and community stakeholders, this volume provides both inspiration and actionable strategies for developing apprenticeship programs that are immersive, relational, and rooted in place. Combining research, lived experience, and practical implementation insights, Powering Teacher Apprenticeships offers a hopeful and forward-looking vision for rural education—one in which communities are empowered to grow their own educators, strengthen local schools, and build sustainable systems that nurture both talent and belonging for generations to come. It is a powerful volume that will guide school administrators as well as preservice teachers, graduate students and faculty at Colleges of Education.Perfect for courses such as: Clinical Practice in Teacher Education; Place-Based Education and Community Engagement; Rural Schools and Community Partnerships; Education Policy: Teacher Workforce and Certification; Policy and Practice in Teacher Preparation Reform; Models of Teacher Apprenticeship and Mentorship; Issues and Innovations in Rural Schooling; Designing Sustainable Educator Pipelines

Teaching that aims to be inclusive of marginalized communities is under attack in the United States, evidenced, for example, in widespread school book banning efforts, prohibition of Advanced Placement African American history, and a general tenor of fear among educators across the K-12 and higher education spectrum. This fear originates from a variety of pedagogical attempts at teaching content or utilizing practices that do anything other than valorize the dominant narrative and status quo in the United States. Classroom teachers and college instructors ask what can be done to uphold the practices they know to support students from all backgrounds to experience educational success and inclusion that won’t capture the ire of parent groups, school boards, or educational commissions bent on squelching such critical efforts. Against the Current: Inclusive Multicultural Education Practices for Contentious Times addresses these issues by providing examples from K-12 and higher education classrooms where educators’ practices offer a path forward. Each chapter in the book presents an example of ways educators practice multicultural inclusivity and offers insights on how to do so even in hostile environments. Chapters in Part 1 of the book offer re-framings of flashpoint issues, including such topics as anti-Muslim racism and fugitive pedagogical practices. While the chapters in Part 1 offer a grounding in ways educators might rethink the work at hand, the chapters in Part 2 offer innovative tools or practices that educators across grade levels--including higher education--can use, including frameworks for cultivating deep listening when confronting emotionally charged topics in the classroom and curriculum materials for family and community engagement. Finally, Part 3 of the book offers case studies of this work in action, including examples at the individual teacher or instructor level, the classroom level, and the schoolwide level. The volume includes a guide for readers with discussion and reflection questions, extension activities, and additional resources for each chapter. Against the Current is critical reading in a variety of settings. It can be used in professional development programs to better equip teachers. College and university libraries will want it in their collections. As a teaching textbook, its content will apply to a large number of classes in multicultural education, inclusive teaching and learning, and other courses, thus equipping preservice teachers with valuable tools as they prepare to enter schools.Perfect for courses such as: Introduction to Education; Educational Equity; Foundations of Education; Multicultural Education; Social Justice and Education; Teacher Education; Teaching Methods; Educational Practice; Educational Studies

Hidden in Plain Sight: Women Leaders in the Academy is an essential resource that examines the experiences, challenges, and achievements of women leading in higher education. Written for current and aspiring women academic leaders, it provides the tools, insights, and support needed to navigate this complex terrain successfully. Hidden in Plain Sight addresses a striking paradox: while many accomplished women hold academic leadership positions, they often remain invisible within their own institutions. Despite occupying roles of authority, women leaders frequently find themselves overlooked, unrecognized, and unheard. This contradiction exposes the gap between institutional claims that leadership is gender-neutral and the reality women face daily in academic settings. Drawing on demographic data, statistical trends, and evidence-based practices, this textbook offers practical guidance grounded in real experience. Readers will find case studies, personal anecdotes, and actionable strategies for advancing in academic leadership while maintaining personal integrity and well-being. The book explores various leadership approaches and identifies common pitfalls, equipping readers with knowledge to navigate challenges effectively. Hidden in Plain Sight serves as both mirror and map—reflecting the realities women leaders experience while charting pathways forward. It empowers current leaders to advocate for themselves and their institutions while inspiring the next generation to pursue academic leadership with eyes wide open and strategies firmly in hand. This is the guidebook for women determined to lead authentically, effectively, and sustainably in higher education. The book is written about and for women in leadership positions, and for women interested in educational leadership within the academy. It will also be of interest to college, university and public libraries; individuals including scholars in the discipline; and it can serve as a critical textbook in a variety of Leadership classes in undergraduate and graduate programs.Perfect for courses such as: Women and Leadership; Higher Education Administration; Gender Studies in Education; Educational Leadership and Policy; Sociology of Higher Education; Feminist Theory and Practice; Women's Studies Capstone Seminar; Organizational Behavior in Education; Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education; Professional Development for Graduate Students

Translating Words, Creating Worlds: Poetry Inside Out as Critical Literacy and Translanguaging Pedagogy in K-12 Classrooms is a timely and inspiring guide to bringing critical literacy, translanguaging, and student voice into today’s classrooms. Grounded in the innovative Poetry Inside Out (PIO) program developed at the Center for the Art of Translation, this volume demonstrates how poetry translation can transform language learning into a powerful act of collaboration, creativity, and cultural exploration. Across diverse K–12 settings, students engage with poems from around the world—written in languages such as Vietnamese, Spanish, and Albanian—and work together to translate them into English. Specifically, they first work in pairs to create a “Phrase-by-Phrase” translation, akin to a rough draft. Then, in groups of four, students meld and refine their drafts, developing a “Make it Flow” translation that the entire group agrees to. Through discussion, interpretation, performance, and revision, students do far more than learn vocabulary or grammar: they analyze meaning, wrestle with complex social and political themes, and develop sophisticated literacy practices rooted in authentic communication. Written by classroom teachers, school leaders, and literacy practitioners, Translating Words, Creating Worlds offers vivid, real-world examples of PIO in action across elementary, middle, and high school classrooms. The book provides practical, accessible strategies for educators seeking to create culturally sustaining, language-rich learning environments that honor and leverage students’ linguistic and cultural assets. At a moment when educators are searching for meaningful ways to support multilingual learners and foster inclusive classrooms, this volume delivers both inspiration and actionable pedagogy. Readers will discover how collaborative poetry translation can deepen students’ engagement with language, strengthen critical thinking, and cultivate empathy, dialogue, and intellectual curiosity. An essential resource for teachers, teacher educators, and TESOL/ESL professionals, Translating Words, Creating Worlds is ideal for courses in second language acquisition, literacy, multilingual education, and culturally responsive teaching.Perfect for courses such as: Literacy Education; Methods in ELA/Humanities; Educating Multilingual Children and Youth; Foundations of Bilingual Education; Bilingual Education Theory and Practices; Curriculum and Lesson Planning (Middle/Secondary and/or Elementary); Culture, Language, and Education

The Critical Role of Ethnic Studies in Educational Leadership addresses the urgency of having equity-minded and globally-oriented transformative leaders who seek to empower students and teachers alike through their commitment to integrate ethnically and culturally rich curriculum and instruction in today’s schools. The ethnic studies revival movement has emerged to combat the cycles of ignorance affecting society in negative ways. Unless educational leaders possess relevant cultural and ethnic proficiency, have global perspectives, and are eager to lead by example, educators will continue to flounder about the best ways to cultivate pluralism in American schools. Moreover, shifts in mindsets toward ethnically and culturally relevant school learning and teaching culture are needed for leaders to ensure that they not only have the knowledge and skill, but also the courage and will to reform schools through an inclusive and comprehensive approach based on the axioms of ethnic studies education in the K-20 settings. To amplify the importance and interconnected pathway that exists across these policies that bridge high schools, community colleges, and state universities, this volume details how educational leaders in California are continuing to advance social justice through the implementation of Ethnic Studies and the role that educational leadership—including credential, masters, and doctoral programs—can play in the full attainment of the goals for ethnic studies implementation. The lessons learned in California are relevant across the nation and around the world. As Ethnic Studies has expanded across PK-12 and higher education contexts, extant studies have both quantitatively and qualitatively detailed how participation in quality Ethnic Studies courses and programs in and out of schools can improve many student outcomes such as engagement, critical thinking, and achievement, as well as attendance, increased GPAs, and graduation rates. The work to effectively implement Ethnic Studies requires strong leadership, including students, teachers, community leaders, and site and district level administrators. The Critical Role of Ethnic Studies in Educational Leadership is an important book that appeals to a variety of readers. Those interested in a deeper understanding of Ethnic Studies will find the book will better inform them. Educational leaders are provided with both the rational and the methodologies for implementing this important concept in curriculum. It is also a valuable teaching resource for a variety of classroom settings.Perfect for courses such as: Intro to Ethnic Studies; Intro to Chicano Studies; Climate & Environmental Justice; Educational Reform; Educational Policy Environments; Theories of Cross-Cultural Education

How do we create lasting systemic change in institutions designed to reproduce the status quo? Some might answer this question with responses related to mission, vision, resource allocation and investment, and talent. However, the path to creating sustainable changes in educational institutions is often obstructed by policy, institutional inertia, and ingrained systemic barriers. Work is sometimes reduced to a checkbox exercise aimed at compliance, rather than genuine transformation, leading to benefits only for groups traditionally supported by the established structures. For those striving for change, a sense of powerlessness can dominate, as structural constraints limit their agency and dilute their impact. Recognizing these realities, there can be no simple recipe or single formula that guarantees lasting change, particularly transformational change that shifts paradigms in ways that advance equity and inclusion. Instead of a formula, Systems Transformation for Equity in Education: Principles for Organizational Change introduces 6 key principles of organizational change. In order to engage in complex systems transformation for equity, we must: 1. know the contexts that surround systems change; 2. develop cohesive project plans and find appropriate funding for these plans; 3. understand the centrality of leadership; 4. work collectively towards equity through relationality, respect, and mutuality; 5. reflect upon success and challenges; and 6. ensure the institutionalization of systems transformation. The book is structured first to provide a broad overview of each principle, then to illustrate each using a case study of program change. Chapter One focuses on the principle of knowing the complex contexts that surround systems change. In this chapter, the book introduces the origins, objectives, complexities, diverse stakeholders and outcomes of the case study as well as contextual factors that should be considered in launching systems transformation. Chapter Two focuses on ensuring alignment in the design, development and enactment of transformative projects, including establishing an initial vision, using data to inform decision making and finding appropriate funding sources. Chapter Three focuses on the principle that Leadership matters in systems transformation for equity. This chapter highlights the importance of identifying a leadership team, providing clear team members’ roles, and dividing tasks wisely. Chapter Four focuses on cultivating consensus and moving forward collectively in diverse stakeholder groups with competing priorities. Chapter Five focuses on the importance of reflecting upon success to expand the impact of systems transformation, adapting programs to stay responsive to changing contexts, and on navigating unanticipated challenges to initiative-based work. Chapter Six focuses on expanding impact and identifying ways to ensure the institutionalization of systems transformation. It addresses some key factors such as documenting and communicating the successes and challenges of the project, disseminating evaluation findings; creating a plan for when the grant funding ends, accessing new funding; identifying continuing and new stakeholders; developing ongoing products; developing collective language; and ensuring institutional buy-in. The final chapter tells the story of lessons learned from this process and what has happened to the focal program in the 2 years following the end of the grant funding, particularly given changing socio-political contexts.Perfect for courses such as: Principles of Organizational Change; Equity and Organizational Change; Foundations of Organization Change; Educational Leadership; Race, Equity, and Leading Educational Change; Education Policy Implementation