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Editors' Introduction
Many of us teacher educators have had an opportunity to reflect on our Fall semester's teaching, research, and services that we provided. The final weeks of December were probably spent grading student lesson plans, research papers, curriculum units, or editing masters' theses and doctoral dissertations. Some may have chosen to teach during the Winter session, while others took some time to possibly travel, visit family, or continue our research and writing. Our hope is that you had an opportunity to do the three R's-Rest, Reflect, and Reenergize. With renewed vigor, we now return to our teaching, research, and service this Spring semester.
For educators like Mary Woods, the Advanced Placement English teacher at Chapin High School in South Carolina who is being censored for using a nationally honored book Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates' (2015), the return from winter break has brought such a sense of anticipation. Ms. Woods joined the over 160 educators who have lost their jobs or been reprimanded due to teaching about race this past year. It is estimated that 18 states now restrict teaching about race and over 25 states prohibit teaching about race, sex, or gender identity. States like Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, and Virginia have started banning the use of words such as culturally responsive teaching, culturally sustainingpedagogy, social emo-tional learning, and critical race theory. Some places are evendismantlingDiversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) positions and leaders in higher education institutions have been harassed and/or encouraged to temper their work.
Meanwhile, with the Republican and Democratie primaries happening as we speak, the media is covering the divisiveness of the frontrunners. Many of the de-bates and political rhetoric are addressing issues such as individuals and families seeking asylum at the Mexican border, the conflict between Palestine and Israël, and women's health rights. What is our role as educator preparation programs in preparing and educating the best and most highly qualified teacher to survive in our democratie schools? How do we manage the teacher education curriculum where restrictions have been put in place through legislation that limits our voices? The importance of classroom management, professional development, teacher identity, and equity-oriented teaching practices will be key this academie year. The results of this year's election may have an impact in one way or another. Therefore, we hope that the four articles in this Winter 2024 issue of Teacher Education Quarterly will shed some insight, dialogue, and possibly answer the above questions as we move forward for this Spring semester and the upcoming 2024-2025 academie year.
The U. S. Department of Education (2023) states, "Teachers are the backbone of our democracy-fostering curiosity and creativity, building skillful individuals, and strengthening informed citizens" (para. 1). Yet, we have to question if censorship can exist in a democracy. Does the Department of Education's aim support the cur-rent landscape of our education sy stem? With this in mind, can teacher preparation programs do more to develop caring teachers with the necessary dispositions and pedagogical skills? Does the banning of topics related to racial justice and intersec-tional experiences support our children's growth within our democratie society?
In this issue Teacher Education Quarterly authorRobert V. Bullough Jr. names the powerof democratie manners including"hospitality, listening, voice, reflectivity, and evidential discernment" in nis article "Reimagining Classroom Management and Discipline: The Citizenship of Schooling and Democracy as a Way of Life." After analyzing three prominent texts, Bullough argues that we need to approach classroom management as a "philosophical and practical moral problem tied to answering the insistent question, how ought students and educators live together and treat one another in school?" He challenges us to move beyond relating classroom management to the development of dispositional and technical skills to be attained and purports that we consider the five democratie manners. This framework could cross borders into other content areas that would allow giving grace to each other to solve pressing problems that we are facing so we may work more collaboratively among sy sterns within governments and education. This may result in having caring teachers who will teach using a social justice and equity perspective.
The theme of caring teachers is further discussed in Jihea Maddamsetti 's article entitled "Caring Teacher Identity-in-Discourse, Practice, and Visual Representation: Elementary Teacher Candidates' Body Mapping During the CO VID-10 Pandemic." This work employs critically conscious care theories to guide teacher candidates to name, analyze, and challenge structural injustice within and beyond the classroom during their teacher education program. By examining how injustices are either ap-propriated or resisted when engaging in discourses of care may impact how teacher candidates develop into critically caring teachers. Three elementary teacher candi-datesexploredtheiridentitiesduringtheCOVID-19pandemicthroughcollaborative and individual body mapping exercises during online asynchronous coursework. The analysis of the body mapping exercises not only shed light on these unique pedagogical strategies but allowed them to explore "affordances and challenges that discursive and semiotic tools like body mapping pose for teacher educators." Caring teacher identity-in-discourse, practice, and visual representation may be a useful way for teacher candidates to scrutinize their understanding of care in a time where peoples' bodies, minds, and democratie freedoms are being challenged.
In "Teacher Perceptions of their Preparation for Equity-Oriented Teaching: Development and Initial Validation of a Broad Measure" authors Divya Varier, Marvin Powell, Naomi Brown, Eden Langston, Laura LaClede, and Stephanie Dodmanmove the conversationa step further with their validated survey instrument Teacher Preparation for Equity Scale. They used this scale toassessteacherperceptions regarding the extent to which their teacher preparation program emphasized elements of equity-oriented preparation by analyzing equity-related beliefs and reflective practices. This scale can assist teacher preparation programs prepare the next generation of teachers in equity-oriented practices so that they are capable to apply the DEI strategies as move into the field. This is especially timely with the censorship of teachers' curriculum development and the banning of books from school libraries. Our teacher candidates need support in how to teach from an equity-oriented perspective once they transition into the classroom, therefore, measuring teachers' perspectives and co-constructing effective professional development practices in all content areas will be key.
Selcuk Dogan and Mete Akcaoglu's article entitled "How Teachers from Un-derrepresented Schools ExperiencedaBlended Professional Development Program on Computer Science and Game Design" analyzes the outcomes from ayear-long, blended professional development (PD) program that taught teachers game design and coding skills within a middle school curriculum. This study highlights the importance of teachers being familiar with using computer science skills by employ-ing a mixed methods design. They investigate how teachers experienced the PD program when they have different levels of interest, engagement, and motivation.
Their findings show that the teachers' levels of engagement differed for various reasons, such as challenges related to time, motivation, and interest. Based on their analysis, the authors recommend integrating more motivational strategies into PD programs as well as better tracking and monitoring mechanisms to support further teacher engagement when planning and designing online and blended learning PD for teachers. Their work is a good reminder that our marmers of professional development also need to be responsive to the teachers who are learning, making sense of, and transferring knowledge in different ways.
We hope that this Winter 2024 issue of Teacher Education Quarterly will further assist teacher educators with some knowledge for thought as you continue your teaching, scholarship, and service, and as you support the mission and vision of your institution, your school of education, and your assigned department. The importance of preparing teacher candidates who care, who teach with an equity-orientedphilosophy, who are democratie, and who will continue to seekprofessional development are all important factors as we continue to improve their teaching practice. Continuous professional growthis essential as they transitionfrom teacher candidate to teacher of record-as that is what will really make a difference in the lives of the children they will teach.
Reyes L. Quezada is editor of Teacher Education Quarterly, and a professor, Rebekka J. Jez is an assistant editor and assistant professor, and Kelly León and Sobeida Velazquez are assistant editors and Ph.D. candidates, all in the Department of Learning and Teaching of the School of Leadership and Education Sciences at the University of San Diego, San Diego, California. Email addresses: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], & [email protected]
References
Coates, T. (2015). Between the world and me. Speigel & Grau.
Natanson, H. (September 18,2023). Her students reported her for teaching a lesson on race. Can she trust them again? Washington Post.
United States Department of Education (2023). Elevating teaching, https://www.ed.gov/ teaching
Copyright Caddo Gap Press Winter 2024