Course Correction: Examining 2020’s Middle Level Teacher Education through a Critical, Antiracist Lens-A Collaborative Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices

• Published in: Current issues in middle level education Vol. 28; no. 1; pp. 1 - 19
• Main Authors: Smith, Kristie, Falbe, Kristina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Georgia Southern University 2024
• Subjects: anti-bias; antiracism; curriculum and instruction; middle level; teacher education; teacher preparation
• ISSN: 1938-1611; 1938-1611
• DOI: 10.20429/cimle.2024.280102

The work of teacher education in a 2020’s context is challenging and filled with opportunity. With a diversifying P-12 student body (Love, 2020; Pitts, 2019) and the confluence of social, political, and educational factors (Nieto & Bode, 2018), the complexities of teacher education are vast and fluid. In a historical moment that has included teaching in a time of pandemic, national reckonings over race and injustice, and explicit legislation to guide teaching about social history (Kelly et al, 2023), effective middle level teacher education is multifaceted. It calls for the development of teacher candidates skilled in creating school environments that are “welcoming, inclusive, and affirming for all” (Bishop & Harrison, 2021, p. 12). It also necessitates middle level educators to grapple with the impact of systemic bias and to hold explicit commitments toward equitable and justice-oriented pedagogies (Bishop & Harrison, 2021; Ranschaert, 2021). In “Course Correction” we tell the story of our collaborative self-study of teacher education practices, situated in middle level education. Within this inquiry, we sought to identify points of bias that influence and inhabit our work by assessing our instructional frames, curricular resources, and practices. We also sought to examine our teaching through a critical, antiracist lens, a necessary framing for the 2020’s teacher education context.