Many teachers enter teacher education programs expecting to develop tools and ways of thinking necessary to cultivate educational equity in their classrooms. Trends for teacher learning and development show that, while equity gets addressed, there is less evidence of frameworks, tools, and practices that center equity for teacher learning and…

A critical ethnic studies in education is a way to extend or push notions of equity and justice in education. It is necessary given the deleterious impact of neoliberal policies and practices that support an a historical, apolitical, and non-materialist understanding of history. The four articles in this symposium offer a critical comparative…

This qualitative study explored how 18 educators, participating on inquiry teams designed to counter persistent inequities among minoritized students, described culturally responsive pedagogy and practice compared to antiracist or anti-oppressive pedagogy. Results showed how the phrase "culturally responsive" led educators to emphasize…

This article asserts whiteness as an ideology that reaches beyond race/racism to shape and reproduce other interlocking oppressive systems. In higher education, this notion of whiteness permeates commonly celebrated "high impact practices" (HIPs) to undermine the success of trans* students in US postsecondary education. Through an…

With approximately 40 million foreign-born people in the United States, US classrooms are witnessing an intense concentration of newcomer students and a persistent achievement gap between immigrant students and their English-speaking, US-born peers. Yet, some teachers are consistently successful with "those" children typically…

This article explores how two urban schools help teachers create equitable spaces for students. We describe the structures and experiences supporting teacher learning and transfer of learning to practice as well as what happens when what is designed for and what is enacted do not align. Findings include that teacher professional learning for…

The authors of this qualitative study provided Black female preservice teachers in an urban cohort at a predominantly white institution a seat at the kitchen table to share their racialized and gendered experiences. The research questions centered around the experiences of Black female preservice teachers, their participation in anti-racist…

Guided by the frameworks of college-conocimiento and the cooling out function, this study examined the college choice process of Latina/o/x students who attended an under-resourced urban high school. Data for this study consisted of interviews with ten institutional agents, two oral history interviews with 34 Latina/o/x students, and observation…

The colonial miseducation oppressed people have historically gotten in the United States keeps dispossessed people alienated from resources, belief systems, and ways of being that are inherently theirs. Pro-people, anti-colonial, and abolitionist social movements provide important insights for educational researchers and teacher educators to…

Critical computational literacy (CCL) is a new pedagogical and conceptual framework that combines the strengths of critical literacy and computational thinking. Through CCL, young people conceptualize, create, and disseminate digital projects that break silences, expose important truths, and challenge unjust systems, all the while building skills…

Alternative education provides different and powerful opportunities for learning. In this article, the author focuses on students who resist stereotypes that are produced and maintained by dominant powers and ideologies, and who share their knowledge and experiences with systemic marginalization. Drawing from classroom videos, qualitative…

In this article, we conceptualize youth oppression as a social justice issue using SJE frameworks including Adams' levels of oppression, Bell's defining features of oppression, Hardiman et al.'s matrix of oppression, Young's Five Faces, and Love's internalized oppression. We examine youth as a social identity group, and youth oppression as a…

In this essay, the authors challenge the myth of political neutrality in teaching and emphasize the urgent need for teachers to imagine and enact liberatory pedagogical praxis that sensitively responds to the nation's divisive political climate. They point to U.S. political shifts and changing federal policies in education as catalysts for the…

This article intervenes in the long-standing conversations around which youth activism, literacies, and civic engagement take place. In an effort to expand the boundaries of activism to include the work of youth critical literacies within the classroom, this article highlights the work of four female high school students of color as they bring…

Critical consciousness refers to the ways in which individuals come to understand and challenge oppressive social forces. Philosopher-educator Paulo Freire argued that critical curiosity--an eagerness to learn more about and develop a deep understanding of issues of social justice--serves as an important catalyst to critical consciousness…