Books in the Routledge Research in Teacher Education series

Challenging the current state of public education and teacher preparation, this book argues for a re-imagination of teacher education through a critical feminist and critical education perspective. Offering a rich discussion of the promise and pedagogy of self-reflexivity and testimonio, which emerges from critical feminism, this book brings together theory and practice in critical feminism, critical education, and testimonio to serve as a platform in which to reconceptualize the philosophy of traditional teacher education, arguing that too many programs prepare teachers who often preserve, rather than challenge, the status quo.

Gender identity and sexuality play crucial roles in the educational experiences of students, parents, and teachers. Teacher education must more directly address the ways that schools reflect and reproduce oppressive gender norms, working to combat homophobia, transphobia, heteronormativity, and gendered expectations in schools. This volume examines teacher candidates'' experiences with gender and sexuality in the classroom, offering insight and strategies to better prepare teachers and teacher educators to support LGBTQ youth and families. This volume addresses the need for broader, more in-depth qualitative data describing teacher candidates'' responses to diversity in the classroom (including gender, sexuality, race, class and religion). By using pedagogical tools such as narrative writing and positioning theory, teacher candidates explore these issues to better understand their own students'' narratives in deeply embodied ways. This book calls for schools to be places where oppression, in all its complexity, is explored and challenged rather than replicated.

This book uses Taiwan as a case study to analyze the transformation of teacher education in a country which goes through political, economic and societal transitions, along the axis of state regulation vs marketization. It analyzes the uniqueness of Taiwanese teacher education for international reference, and draws implications for teacher education policies in the context of education reform.

Through a critical-ecological lens, this book explores a comprehensive and ecological re-design of a teacher education program grounded in research on the complex factors that affect the teaching and learning of linguistically and culturally diverse children. Chapter authors challenge hegemonic cultural and linguistic norms, quantitative and static views of "resources," the impact of U.S. education policy, and the limited attention to the agency, identities, and strategic actions of diverse students and their families.

The book addresses challenges others are likely to experience while improving teacher preparation, including preservice teacher resistance, the challenge of adding to already-packed courses, the difficulty of recruiting and retaining busy faculty members, and the question of how to best frame the larger issues. The authors also address options for integrating the work of improving teacher preparation for linguistic diversity into a variety of different teacher education program designs. Finally, the book demonstrates a data-driven approach that makes this work consistent with many institutions¿ mandate to produce research and to collect evidence supporting accreditation.

The Use of Children's Literature in Teaching reveals the impact of politics, professional guidelines and restrictive measurements of literacy on the emerging identities of young teachers.