Teacher Education for Justice and Equity: 40 Years of Advocacy

ABSTRACT

Consistent with the anniversary theme of this special issue of ATE, this article offers an overview of 40 years of advocacy for social justice- and equity-centered teacher preparation through three extended examples from the author’s own work. Arranged chronologically and shaped by differing policy and political landscapes, the examples represent contrasting genres of scholarship emerging from the author’s involvement in different aspects of the work of teacher education. Each example provides a snapshot of equity-related advocacy work in teacher preparation at a particular point in time and a particular social and political context. Taken together, the three examples also suggest that a number of key questions recur in advocacy (and controversy) related to justice- and equity-oriented teacher preparation, including: What is the meaning of equity in teacher preparation? What is the meaning of practice? What kinds of knowledge are needed to teach well? What does it mean to learn to teach? The article comments on the shifting policy contexts that have shaped efforts to advocate for justice- and equity-oriented teacher education. It concludes by connecting 40 years of advocacy to a major current controversy related to equity and teacher education.

KEYWORDS:

• Equity
• social justice
• advocacy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Given space constraints, I do not cite here all the work that my own work has referenced and built on over the years; rather I refer readers to the relevant pieces of my work, which includes elaboration and full citations to the theoretical and other foundational ideas upon which it draws.

2. Although other examples are available, see the special issue of Teachers College Record, titled “Transforming University-Based Teacher Education: Preparing Asset-, Equity-, and Justice-Oriented Teachers within the Contemporary Political Context,” Souto-Manning, M. (2019b) (Ed.) which brings together the work of the Teacher Education Collective.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marilyn Cochran-Smith

Marilyn Cochran-Smith is the Cawthorne Professor of Teacher Education at the Lynch School, Boston College. A frequent presenter nationally and internationally, Cochran-Smith's research interests include practitioner inquiry and teacher education research, practice and policy with a focus on social justice and equity.