This article conveys the results of a research study that interpreted the images taken by teachers and teacher candidates of social injustices in their university communities. In this article, the authors describe results of a project that required students to use their cell phones to take two pictures of social injustices. One image was to depict…

The development of culturally responsive teachers who value their students for their own stories and backgrounds represents a critical pursuit. Unfortunately, new teachers report feeling unprepared for racial and ethnic diversity in the classroom and find that coursework addressing these issues provides little help in classroom practice (Castro,…

Today's classrooms in the United States reflect the growing diversity of the changing world. In order to prepare high-quality multicultural educators, the authors of this article, three teacher educators at a large, mid-south, research-one university, collaborated to share successful strategies to infuse multicultural literature into the three…

Improving the quality of education for Indigenous students in the United States (U.S.) requires meaningful and purposeful collaboration between stakeholders in schools, communities, and universities (Clare & Sampsel, 2013; National Center for Educational Statistics, NCES, 2012b). However, scant literature addresses collaboration between…

Are there teachable "transferable skills" (TS) that might mitigate the limitations of a rural location--or indeed, the limitations any program might encounter in regard to diversity expectations? Following a study conducted in 2010 of how rural schools, colleges, and departments of education (SCDEs) attempted to meet the National Council…

Before the detection of ozone depletion in the 1970s, an environmental movement began throughout the nation based on an increasing awareness of air and water pollution, and "deaths as a result of work conditions". Since then, movements for sustainable environmental practices and human rights continue to gain momentum. All over the globe,…

Education research literature is rife with images of pre- and in-service teachers in urban settings. Entire publications are grounded in the study of this population (see Journal of Urban Education, Education and Urban Society, The Urban Review, Perspectives on Urban Education, The National Journal of Urban Education, and Rethinking Schools). In…

Research suggests that while students in public schools in the U.S. are becoming increasingly diverse in terms of race, ethnicity, class, and culture, the pool of prospective teachers is made up largely of White, middle-class women. The demographic imperative indicates that this trend will remain stable for the foreseeable future, reinforcing the…

Every semester one of the authors of this article, Catherine Prudhoe, challenges many of her preservice students' perceptions of a familiar and often favorite children's book, "The Giving Tree," by Shel Silverstein (1964). She begins the class by reading the text aloud to the students. Most smile, fondly remembering hearing the book as a child. A…

The authors of this article work in a university-based teacher preparation program designed to prepare teachers to serve in urban, historically underserved schools. Entrance to the program is competitive. Preservice teachers are selected, in part, for their rich life experiences and interest in working in high-needs schools. Even with this…

It is essential for teachers and teacher educators alike to understand how teachers conceptualize multicultural education. It is such understandings that will help a teacher education program meet the real needs of both the teachers and their students. After all, it is the teacher who works with diversity in the classroom and who must make…

Teacher educators are pivotal in the effort to prepare teachers to teach in culturally responsive ways (Vescio, et al., 2006). In subject areas such as social studies and English, multicultural literature is viewed as a prime resource for creating a culturally inclusive curriculum. Yet, effective inclusion of these texts--many of which are filled…

While it is clear that culturally and linguistically diverse students have the greatest need for quality instructional programs, many researchers argue that they are less likely to be taught with the most effective evidence-based instruction. Banks (2002) contends that the challenges facing educators in meeting the needs of multicultural students…

In an attempt to enact equitable practices in U.S. public schools, many critical multicultural and anti-racist theorists, researchers, and practitioners strongly suggest that teacher educators move beyond diversity approaches to multicultural education in their teacher preparation programs to address the more uncomfortable issues of power and…

Social foundations courses, and in particular any course that has to do with multiculturalism or diversity, can be land mines for teacher educators seeking to provide experiences that may be "partisan" but also "educative". This article explores the tensions of teaching multiculturalism classes to undergraduate teacher…