This Special Issue of The Teacher Educator was designed to help further interrogate ways teacher educators are examining new and different permutations of culturally responsive teaching, including a move toward community engagement within the context of teacher education. Contained within, you will find a provocative interview with Dr. Tyrone Howard in conversation with Drs. Pat Clark and Eva Zygmunt, two Research articles focused on preservice teachers' self-efficacy doubts about culturally responsive teaching (Siwatu, Chestnut, Alejandro, and Young) and cultural competence assessments for preservice teachers (Bustamante, Skidmore, Nelson, and Jones), as well as two articles that describe different aspects of Promising Practices, the benefits of facilitated reflection for teacher candidates (Smith and Glenn) and theoretical frameworks and practical considerations for community-based urban teacher education (Noel). Collectively these articles represent the rich research tapestry surrounding the theme of culturally responsive and community engaged teacher education. We wish to thank all of the authors for their contributions.
