Critical Readings In Teacher Education

Like other fields of study, teacher education defines itself both by what it includes and by what it excludes. Teacher educators and researchers have spent a great deal of time seeking and attempting to eradicate the flaws in existing structures and practices, but significantly less time learning to perceive the absences.

World wide the production of teachers has become a sharp political issue during the early years of the twenty first century. Current systems for ensuring a supply of capable and knowledgeable teachers have come sustained under attack from politicians, economists, parents’ organisations and social critics alike.

This anthology of critical readings (for students about to enter the teaching profession and for those interested in carefully examining schools and schooling) features provocative, engaging authors whose views are politicized, but whose writing and opinions matte - not because they are gadflies, but because their ideas work and their achievements as teachers, principals, and policy shapers are so notable. Educational Foundations: An Anthology of Critical Readings is organized around the following questions: Why teach? Who are today′s students? What makes a good teacher? How should we assess student learning? What does a good school look like? How does one develop a critical voice (in the face of state mandates, administrative edicts, and the continuous cycle of reform and retrenchment)? Alan S Canestrari and Bruce A Marlowe′s answers are bold and refreshing. They eschew the unquestioning compliance so characteristic of new teachers. Also, by taking a hard look at traditional educational practice, they serve as models for the kind of reflective practitioners we hope pre-service students will become when they enter the field. The key feature of this anthology are the readings by authors who have discovered their own critical voices so that new teachers can begin to develop their own. These readings offer a platform for discussion and debate that may be used by instructors to increase student knowledge of pedagogy and to provide authentic opportunities for potential teachers to think critically about teaching and learning.

Why teach? Who are today’s students? What makes a good teacher? Educational Foundations: An Anthology of Critical Readings aims to answer such questions by helping new and future teachers develop habits of critical reflection about schools and schooling before entering the classroom. Editors Alan S. Canestrari and Bruce A. Marlowe feature an array of provocative, engaging authors who, as teachers, principals, and policy shapers, provide the latest perspectives in the field. The thoroughly revised Fourth Edition features an array of bold new essays discussing today’s most relevant issues, including diversity, school safety, data in schools, and teacher strikes.

The personal and professional are woven together in this collection of scholarly narratives by teacher educators who share their early critical experiences and model teaching practices to support continued resistance and possibilities in teacher education. Representing myriad contexts where teacher education takes place, the range of scholars included represent diverse racial, gendered, linguistic, economic, and ethnic intersectional perspectives. Each chapter suggests practical tools and encourages readers to reflect on their own journeys of becoming transformational teacher educators. This book adds an important dimension to the field with a new and generative approach to the introduction of critical literacies and pedagogies, and offers a potentially powerful way to explore theory, methodology, and social issues. Readers will enjoy the compelling storytelling of these powerful and vulnerable memoirs.

Choosing to Teach, Choosing to See: Critical Readings for Those Entering the Noble Profession of Education provides future and in-service educators with a collection of articles that explore various facets of the teaching profession. The readings challenge traditional perspectives on education, amplify diverse voices and ideologies, and provide a solid foundation for teachers to connect with students and support their educational excellence. Over the course of eight thought-provoking articles, readers learn about developing camaraderie with students, teaching without fear, building a caring classroom that supports achievement, and the challenges of white privilege in educational contexts. Dedicated readings explore community-based pedagogical spaces, literacy development of urban poor youth, and more. Designed to help individuals grow into compassionate, effective, and empowered educators, Choosing to Teach, Choosing to See is a valuable resource for courses and programs in K-12 education and educational leadership. It is also an excellent textbook for teachers interested in pursuing personal and professional development. Ty-Ron M. O. Douglas is an associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Missouri and an affiliate faculty member of the Black Studies Department. He earned a Ph.D. in educational studies/curriculum and teaching with a concentration in cultural studies and a post-master's certificate in school administration. Dr. Douglas' research explores the intersections between identity, community space, and the social and cultural foundations of leadership, education, and sport. Ransford Pinto earned a Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy analysis and a master's degree in public affairs from the University of Missouri. Dr. Pinto's research focuses on the intersection of race and gender in educational leadership, educational leadership preparation in a global context, and educational equity and social justice in the P-20 system.

Critical Perspectives on the Curriculum of Teacher Education is a collection of papers, written by students in a widely recognized doctoral program in curriculum and educational leadership. The editors have compiled these papers to discuss key ideas and present new possibilities for teachers, in terms of formal and informal curriculum interventions. This book will challenge readers to rethink long-standing assumptions that pass for conventional wisdom in the field.

In Teaching Critical Thinking, renowned cultural critic and progressive educator bell hooks addresses some of the most compelling issues facing teachers in and out of the classroom today. In a series of short, accessible, and enlightening essays, hooks explores the confounding and sometimes controversial topics that teachers and students have urged her to address since the publication of the previous best-selling volumes in her Teaching series, Teaching to Transgress and Teaching Community. The issues are varied and broad, from whether meaningful teaching can take place in a large classroom setting to confronting issues of self-esteem. One professor, for example, asked how black female professors can maintain positive authority in a classroom without being seen through the lens of negative racist, sexist stereotypes. One teacher asked how to handle tears in the classroom, while another wanted to know how to use humor as a tool for learning. Addressing questions of race, gender, and class in this work, hooks discusses the complex balance that allows us to teach, value, and learn from works written by racist and sexist authors. Highlighting the importance of reading, she insists on the primacy of free speech, a democratic education of literacy. Throughout these essays, she celebrates the transformative power of critical thinking. This is provocative, powerful, and joyful intellectual work. It is a must read for anyone who is at all interested in education today.