The work of racial justice advocacy in the field of education is fraught with responsibility and challenge. The impact of historical racism on social policy within the United States has had an enduring effect in the educational realm, which is maintained in part by the prevailing white supremacy culture (WSC). Recent middle level education…

This article illustrates the critical need for middle level preservice teachers to be explicitly prepared to engage in reform-oriented advocacy. To illustrate this point, we present the experiences of four reform-minded student teachers who attempted to enact developmentally responsive curriculum, as defined in "This We Believe"…

While many preservice teachers turn to teaching because they believe in the power of education in the pursuit of social justice, they also lack concrete ideas for how to bring social justice education into the middle-school classroom. With the goal of preparing social justice educators in mind, teacher educators must find ways to transform these…

Early adolescence is a dynamic stage for the development of critical consciousness, yet there are few resources focused on social justice education (SJE) in the middle grades. This article shares the findings from a study that investigated the experiences of three social justice educators as they engaged in SJE with young adolescents (YAs). We…