It is critical that educators learn about the concept of implicit bias and contemplate any unconscious biases they may hold since Black students disproportionately experience punitive school disciplinary consequences and placement into programs for students with disabilities. Greenwald and colleagues' early (1998) research on implicit association…

This qualitative case study examined exit-credential papers from a teacher preparation program to explore how pre-service teachers discussed racial positionality in relation to teaching for social justice. Framed by a Critical Whiteness perspective, the pre-service teachers' papers revealed that out of the cohort of twenty-four, only seven White…

Early childhood teacher preparation programs offer a curriculum that centers the White normative perspective (i.e., devoid of diverse perspectives). Because the young children and families that these teachers will work with are representative of the U.S. demographic, it is important that these programs consider alternate ways of preparing their…

This article addresses the need to uncover and examine implicit biases of early childhood educators through the development of critical consciousness. As a key point of entry to the school system, preschool has the capacity to be an on-ramp to inclusive education, where diversity in its many forms is seen as a benefit to all and a natural part of…

In this article, we share preliminary data of our small pilot study utilizing Democratic Queer Theory framework (Camicia, 2016) and mixed methods data collection sought to understand if teachers are implementing LGBTQ+ curriculum in elementary schools. When evaluating the data collected, we found that California credential candidates are not…

The relationship between practice-based teacher education (PBTE) and teacher education oriented toward social justice (SJTE) has been debated by teacher educators and researchers for some time, and still today the contention persists. Many teacher educators have a goal of supporting preservice teachers (PSTs) enact instructional practices that are…

Practice-based teacher education (PBTE), an approach to teacher education that privileges authentic experiences and is centered around the acquisition of a set of core practices, has seen an increase in popularity in recent years. The goal of PBTE is to cultivate preservice teachers (PSTs) who are 'advanced beginners' in a variety of pedagogical…

In response to increased accountability demands placed on teacher preparation programs across the United States, some programs are using standardized teacher performance assessments, such as edTPA. In our elementary teacher preparation program, a recent state mandate stipulated that teacher candidates had to successfully complete edTPA in order to…

Empathy, defined as both emotional and cognitive perspective-taking, is considered to be an important teacher disposition; however, limited research exists on the implementation of empathy alongside the experiential teaching practicum within alternative route to licensure (ARL) programs. The purpose of this study is to examine ARL teacher…

This exploratory case study (N=18) took place within a merged special education and elementary education teacher preparation program in which all coursework was co-taught by university faculty. Through interviews and focus groups, participants described their perceptions of the benefits of co-teaching; candidates reported participating in models…

I teach in a multiple subject credential program that requires all preservice teachers to complete a course specifically focused on arts curriculum and instruction. Based on my experiences in other credential programs throughout California, arts curriculum and instruction is often combined with another content area like social studies. My arts…

Education is an act of love. One may argue however, that because it is such a personal act, it is difficult and nearly impossible to achieve it in an authentic manner beyond the face-to-face interaction of teacher and student. Yet, we now live in a time in which education has been transmitted to a virtual platform. This paper highlights how I…

With the advent of COVID-19 and classes moving online, future educators of Color (FEoC) in teacher education programs are susceptible to the same disparities in outcomes and retention that college students of Color experience. As a teacher educator of Color, I drew from "abolitionist teaching," "restorative practices," and…

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented upheaval of the traditional teaching context. Fortunately, disruptions can also catalyze innovations as they cause the field to re-examine its assumptions and practices. Re-thinking how we mentor pre-service and early-service teachers is one area that shows particular promise for improving…

This essay presents a case of collaborative learning and lesson design between general and special education teacher candidates through a synchronous online class during the COVID-19 pandemic. We propose a theoretical framework of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) for inclusive history-social studies teaching and detail how we used the framework…