With a change in access to information and a rising social and political consciousness for young people, elementary schools must start to think more about their role in shaping kids' understanding of social issues. While researchers certainly have not agreed upon a single definition of social justice education, Bell (2016) defines its aim as…

Today's teachers must navigate a complex system of policy and curriculum, while striving to accommodate increasingly diverse student demographics and complicated social landscapes. In recognition of the modern-day K-2 classroom, this research reviewed and analyzed educational policy language to identify and examine social justice concepts related…

In this article, we provide an overview of the ways one ecosystem-based literacy program uses high quality racially affirming picturebooks with kindergarten-third grade teachers within communities of practice to develop racial literacy and enact more effective and equitable reading practices. Racial literacy here refers to teachers' ability to…

To contribute to social studies' and history teachers' bank of resources, the book list presented in this article was compiled by the Education Outreach Program (EOP) of the National Arab American Women Association (NAAWA). These books provide an alternative voice and a more colorful picture of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with…

Background or Context: There is increasing research focusing on dual language (DL) education program policies and practices regarding who has access to bilingualism and whose bilingualism is valued and represented. However, limited research is situated in the context of Chinese-English DL education and its service of emergent bilingual learners…

Both pre-service and practicing educators are entering classrooms with limited preparation for the social landscape, affecting a range of professional considerations such as educational equity, culturally responsive teaching, and effective assessment. In an effort to consider greater impact and meaningful development of teachers for social justice…

This study examines the experiences of six K-5 elementary school teachers in professional learning spaces for antiracism. Teachers from two elementary schools established school-university partnerships to begin antiracist work: one on a whole-school level, the other a group of teachers meeting voluntarily with university faculty. Given the paucity…

Principals' beliefs and actions have powerful outcomes in the lives of the students and families they serve. In this article, we offer the portrait of a long-standing principal of a diverse urban school where the student body is 90% Latinx, 65% English learners (ELs), and 87% eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. We explore many key practices…

This case centers on a Black woman school administrator and efforts to disrupt Whiteness among an urban elementary school teaching staff. The case details the resistance she encounters while encouraging teachers to confront "White fragility" and consider how their fragile perspectives on race and racism shape how they educate Black…

This article is an analysis of picture books and chapter books involving lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender characters. Over 30 picture and chapter books were reviewed, each of which would be appropriate for use in elementary classrooms. For grades K-2, several picture books highlight different types of families, including families that…

Preservice teachers often hold deficit views about the students they will teach and their communities. These limiting beliefs can result in lower expectations of and poor outcomes for the students, and need to be addressed in all areas of teacher education, including mathematics courses. The assignment described in this manuscript provides an…

In this article, the authors discuss and share a collection of books, for teachers and children to read together, that focus on themes of peace and social justice. This article is written as a kind of textual professional development session in which teachers and pre-service teachers might participate from their own place and context. The first…

In 1997, fifteen council meetings were observed and recorded at the Albany Free School and subsequently analyzed. Unbeknownst to the school, the council meetings were found to be very similar to what Lawrence Kohlberg had in mind when he developed his Just Community Model. This article discusses how this council meeting forum compares to…