Preparing and Sustaining Social Justice Educators spotlights the challenging and necessary work of fostering social justice in schools. Integral to this work are the teachers and school leaders who enact the principles of social justice—racial equity, cultural inclusivity, and identity acceptance—daily in their classrooms. This volume makes the case that high-quality public education relies on the recruitment, professional development, and retention of educators ready to navigate complex systemic and structural inequities to best serve vulnerable student populations. Annamarie Francois and Karen Hunter Quartz, along with contributing scholars and practitioners, present an intersectional approach to educational justice. The approach is grounded in research about deeper learning, community development, and school reform. Throughout the book, the contributors detail professional activities proven to sustain social justice educators. They show, for example, how effective teacher coaching encourages educators to confront their explicit and implicit biases, to engage in critical conversations and self-reflection, and to assess teacher performance through a social justice lens. The book illustrates how professional learning collaborations promote diverse, antiracist, and socially responsible learning communities. Case studies at three university-partnered K–12 schools in Los Angeles demonstrate the benefits of these professional alliances and practices. Francois and Quartz acknowledge the difficulty of the social justice educator’s task, a challenge heightened by a K–12 teacher shortage, an undersupplied teacher pipeline, and school closures. Yet they keep their sights set on a just and equitable future, and in this work, they give educators the tools to build such a future.

"Preparing and Sustaining Social Justice Educators spotlights the challenging and necessary work of fostering social justice in schools. Integral to this work are the teachers and school leaders who enact the principles of social justice--racial equity, cultural inclusivity, and identity acceptance--daily in their classrooms. This volume makes the case that high-quality public education relies on the recruitment, professional development, and retention of educators ready to navigate complex systemic and structural inequities to best serve vulnerable student populations. Annamarie Francois and Karen Hunter Quartz, along with contributing scholars and practitioners, present an intersectional approach to educational justice. The approach is grounded in research about deeper learning, community development, and school reform. Throughout the book, the contributors detail professional activities proven to sustain social justice educators. They show, for example, how effective teacher coaching encourages educators to confront their explicit and implicit biases, to engage in critical conversations and self-reflection, and to assess teacher performance through a social justice lens. The book illustrates how professional learning collaborations promote diverse, antiracist, and socially responsible learning communities. Case studies at three university-partnered K-12 schools in Los Angeles demonstrate the benefits of these professional alliances and practices. Francois and Quartz acknowledge the difficulty of the social justice educator's task, a challenge heightened by a K-12 teacher shortage, an undersupplied teacher pipeline, and school closures. Yet they keep their sights set on a just and equitable future, and in this work, they give educators the tools to build such a future." -- Provided by publisher.

Due to the increasingly diverse populations found in Pre-K-12 education, it is imperative that teacher educators prepare preservice teachers to meet the shifting needs of changing student populations. Through the integration of social justice education, teacher educators can challenge the mainstream curriculum with a lens of equity and collaborative equality. Handbook of Research on Integrating Social Justice Education in Teacher Preparation Programs is a critical research book that explores the preparation and teaching methods of educators for including social justice curriculum. Highlighting a wide range of topics such as ethics, language-based learning, and feminism, this book is ideal for academicians, curriculum designers, social scientists, teacher educators, researchers, and students.

This practical book shows how veteran, justice-oriented social studies teachers are responding to the Common Core State Standards, focusing on how they build curriculum, support students’ literacy skills, and prepare students to think and act critically within and beyond the classroom. In order to provide direct classroom-to-classroom insights, the authors draw on letters written by veteran teachers addressed to new teachers entering the field. The first section of the book introduces the three approaches teachers can take for teaching for social justice within the constraints of the Common Core State Standards (embracing, reframing, or resisting the standards). The second section analyzes specific approaches to teaching the Common Core, using teacher narratives to illustrate key processes. The final section demonstrates how teachers develop, support, and sustain their identities as justice-oriented educators in standards-driven classrooms. Each chapter includes exemplary lesson plans drawn from diverse grades and classrooms, and offers concrete recommendations to guide practice. Book Features: Offers advice from experienced educators who have learned to successfully navigate the constraints of high-stakes testing and standards-based mandates.Shares and analyzes curricular and pedagogical approaches to teaching the Common Core, including lesson plans teachers can use in their own classrooms. Examines a range of philosophical and political stances that teachers might take as they navigate the unique demands of teaching for social justice in their own context. “This inspiring book invites us into conversations that cannot help but to make our teaching more collective, impactful, and profound.” —Kevin Kumashiro, University of San Francisco “This is a must-read book for practicing and aspiring educators interested in learning how to teach justice-oriented, critical social studies.” —Brian D. Schultz, Northeastern Illinois University “At a time of increasing pressure on teachers, this book provides practical approaches from teachers, for teachers to teach within the confines of the Common Core without compromising rigor, integrity, or social justice.” —Tyrone C. Howard, director, UCLA Black Male Institute, UCLA

Many teachers enter the profession with a desire to "make a difference." But given who most teachers are, where they come from, and what pressure they feel to comply with existing school policies, how can they take up this charge? Practice What You Teach follows three different groups of educators to explore the challenges of developing and supporting teachers’ sense of social justice and activism at various stages of their careers: White pre-service teachers typically enrolled in most teacher education programs, a group of new teachers attempting to integrate social justice into their teaching, and experienced educators who see their teaching and activism as inextricably linked. Teacher educator Bree Picower delves into each of these group’s triumphs and challenges, providing strategies and suggestions for all teachers along with her in-depth analysis. By understanding all these challenges, pre-service and in-service teachers, along with teacher educators, will be in a better position to develop the kind of political analysis that lays the foundation for teacher activism. This timely resource helps prepare and support all educators to stand up for equity and justice both inside and outside of the classroom and offers a more nuanced portrait of what the struggle to truly "make a difference" looks like.

Transforming Teacher Education for Social Justice offers teacher educators a new way to think about the development of culturally responsive educators. The authors identify the core components needed to restructure and reorient programs of teacher education to adequately prepare new teachers for the racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse communities they will serve upon graduation. They propose a new model of teacher preparation that capitalizes on the strengths of programs evidencing important outcomes. Chapters address the notion of situated learning embedded in communities; the need for extensive clinical experience in authentic teaching situations; strategies for interweaving theory, content, pedagogy, and classroom practice; the importance of student engagement and motivation; and the implementation of critical service learning. Key policy implications of this model are also discussed within the current landscape of teacher education reform. Book Features: A specific approach for realizing the promise of culturally responsive teaching. A flexible model for a community-engaged teacher preparation. Compelling data on student learning outcomes based on university/school/community collaboration as evidence of eliminating the achievement gap. “The most striking piece of this book is the descriptions and stories of how the community serves as mentors to the university faculty and students. The authors take readers with them through the many authentic activities led by the community mentors. We are left both with the desire to spend time with these remarkable community members ourselves and the desire to develop similar community-based programs.” —Jana Noel, California State University, Sacramento “Mandatory reading for teacher educators who are serious about preparing teachers for diverse schools and communities.” —Tyrone Howard, UCLA

2021 SPE Outstanding Book Award Honorable Mention Mistakes We Have Made: Implications for Social Justice Educators is an edited collection from eleven authors with a wealth of experience teaching in K-12 schools and utilizing culturally relevant practices. This book is current with social justice research and strategies, while connecting to the audience through personal vignettes in each chapter. The personal connection of research supported ideas to help new teachers avoid the authors' early career mistakes in the classroom is at the center of this text. The content is organized into three themes: Inclusive Classrooms, Curriculum Implementation, and Professionalism. Reflection questions are provided at the end of each chapter, which will guide the practitioners to self-reflect and plan next steps accordingly. The e-book provides links to videos, strategies, articles, and other supplemental resources to make this text a “one-stop shop.” Mistakes We Have Made speaks to several audiences, from pre-service teachers to new teachers, to any practitioner that needs a new perspective on teaching with a social justice lens. It can be used as a text in a variety of college courses, professional development workshops, or as a gift for new teachers. Perfect for courses such as: Social Justice for Educators | Diverse Perspectives for Educational Leaders | Diversity and Multiculturalism | Sociocultural Foundations in Education | Issues in Education | Elementary Teacher Foundations | Sociology of Education