In recent decades, Latin American countries have experienced increased enrollment, yet many children and youth remain outside the education system, questioning its relevance. In this context, teachers are called to be aware of and value children and youth's cultural diversity to harness it as the basis for relevant and transformative education. In…

Because few teacher education programs are truly rooted in the philosophical aims of multicultural and social justice education (Asher, 2007; Banks, 2008; Hayes & Juarez, 2012; Miller, 2014), many pre-service teachers (PSTs) remain unpracticed--and unable--to teach in culturally responsive ways (Sleeter, 2012). But what structures and forces…

In this article the author shares a critical reflection of his work as a teacher educator over the last five years teaching in both public and private universities in the U.S. Midwest. The author reflects on his work in a class called "Diversity in Education" over the course of two semesters as a way to trace the genealogy of a course…

In this study, I explore my practices as a teacher educator in one course both before and after returning to the K-12 classroom to teach secondary language learners for one academic year. By examining the intersection of self-study and practice-based teacher education, I illustrate how I used self-study as a mechanism for innovation and change and…

Professional development intended to change teachers' teaching practices is often unsuccessful. This article explores a case set in a developing country. Although some researchers have attributed failure to factors that are external to the teacher educators involved, this study explores the role that teacher educators themselves may play in…

The journey to cultural competence encompasses traveling an ever-expanding path increasing in size with the addition of each of five stages of development: conscientization, self-assessment, self-efficacy, agency, and, finally, critical consciousness as the unifying body within the educational enterprise. The increasing stages create a spiral…

Several years ago, the author's relocated their work as educators from middle and high school music classrooms to positions in teacher education at two Canadian universities. Recognizing that working in initial teacher education demanded a new level of theorizing their practices of music education, they questioned their professional knowledge,…

This two-year self-study explores my experiences as a new teacher educator learning to teach in an introductory foundations course. I was interested in better understanding how and what I can learn from the complexity of my early teaching. As my Freirian orientation to transformational learning was challenged, two key themes emerged: developing…

This article describes a collaborative self-study implemented to improve and refine three teacher educators' instructional practices to better assist their teacher candidates in developing culturally responsive pedagogy and becoming reflective practitioners. The self-study is situated in three theoretical frameworks: Banks's (2005) framework for…

In this article six mathematics teacher educators describe a collaborative self-study that examined personal beliefs about mathematics teacher education. We were striving to understand more fully our beliefs and belief structures, including how these beliefs influence our instructional practices. We describe four beliefs about mathematics teacher…

How do college professors prepare for class? Teachers often approach the lesson planning process differently. Some, though quite different in their methods, come out with remarkably similar results. Two highly effective teachers engaged each other in peer-reflection as they explored their own methods of lesson preparation. As they conferred with…

Many scholars have made the call for teacher educators to provide experiences that can lead preservice teachers to embrace a culturally responsive pedagogy. We investigated the use of brief autobiographies during an internship as a tool (a) for preservice teachers to examine their multidimensional culture; and (b) for teacher educators to assess…

In the goal of science teacher education, the role of reflection to cultivate the teacher as a transformative practitioner has been largely recognised. Reflective thinking is crucial for teachers to be mindfully and knowledgeably situated in teaching and transforming their actions. This study looks into the dilemmas of teaching practical work in…

In an exploratory study of 12 teacher education programs representing various geographic regions and institutional types according to the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, this author and a colleague (Goodwin & Oyler, 2008) learned from teacher educators across the country about the many constraints they work within, the lack…

The issue of how to produce high quality teachers is an ongoing concern for teacher educators worldwide. Research studies consistently conclude that despite the best efforts of teacher educators to provide programs that equip new teachers well for their work in schools, many new teachers find it difficult to enact what they have learned in…