Marginalized communities cannot and do not have decontextualized experiences with how socioscientific issues, such as exposure to COVID-19 as frontline essential workers, high Black infant mortality rates, air pollution leading to respiratory problems, and other issues, affect their communities. As PreK-12 science teachers and teacher educators…

Educational immersions provide opportunities for students to experience a lot in a short time. How do instructors aid students in processing and meaningfully reflecting on their experiences? I describe the development of an immersion--and an accompanying pre- and post-trip class--to sites along the U.S.-Mexico border. Then, I analyze student…

This is the story of how the author came to understand race and racism in America. This story has everything to do with how he came to understand unconscious bias, white nationalism, and the fundamental threat to democracy we face today--and what each of us can do about it. The author shares a framework to help understand key concepts central to…

This article explores the ways in which lived experiences informed literacy teacher educators' (LTEs) pedagogies and practices of social justice. In particular, three case studies were conducted to examine why the LTEs chose to address social justice, as well as how their life experiences influenced their views and pedagogies in their literacy…

How do preservice teachers (PSTs) understand social justice within the context of education-focused study abroad programs? How might traveling across cultural borders facilitate PSTs'™ development of a social justice mindset? Drawing on previous studies and examples from an ongoing study of 6 annual, short-term study abroad programs, this article…

This paper reports on a qualitative research study that examined how 10 literacy teacher educators (LTEs) utilized children's literature to invite teacher trainees to critically engage with social issues, challenge their assumptions about literacy, and begin to develop the knowledge and dispositions to work alongside diverse learners (e.g.,…

Many higher education institutions (HEIs) in the United States have developed what is called post-entry language assessment (PELA) policies. The stated goal of PELA policies is to help admitted international students succeed academically by identifying those who are likely to struggle to meet the language demands of their degree programs and…

The United States' social and economic inequities stood in high relief during the COVID-19 pandemic, spotlighting the glaringly disproportionate systemic injustices related to public health and the economic impact on minoritized communities. Realities of structural and institutionalized racism and classism were exposed to greater degrees as we…

Given that postsecondary institutions are increasingly seen as sites to promote health, critical scholars are calling attention to how the contemporary Western weight-centred health paradigm reinforces a "size matters" message that is fueling harmful attitudes towards and judgments of bodies. As such, research that highlights strategies…

The purpose of this essay is to ameliorate the virulent discursive and material attack against today's "border" youth launched by large-scale corporations and Western politicians. Specifically, the authors problematize the dominant tropes of youth being mindless, obedient objects who passively accept the stark social reality they…

"Kony 2012," the video by Invisible Children that went viral in March, offers an extraordinary teaching moment, as millions of teens across the country now know and care about a Ugandan warlord named Joseph Kony and the abducted children forced to serve in his militia. Many of these American young people hope to play a role in bringing…

The slogans, the effigy, and the disruption of public space reflect tactics for which AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is commonly remembered, but the occasion is somewhat unique. These protests and actions challenged the Bush and Clinton administrations' policy on HIV-positive Haitian migrants fleeing political repression in Haiti after…

This essay highlights a range of questions that arise when white suburban students engage urban neighborhoods of poverty and color in the United States. How can involvement in an "other" context move beyond "educational tourism"? The essay presents a pedagogical style that raises questions of the kind of socialized body one…

The emphasis on multicultural education and cultural competency has been a popular subject among teacher educators and scholars (Cochran-Smith, 2001; Ladson-Billings, 1995, 1999a, 1999b; Ladson-Billings, 2003, 2006; Perry, Moore, Acosta, Edwards, & Frey, 2006; Sleeter, 2008, 2009; Sleeter & Stillman, 2005; Sleeter,1991, 2001, 2008; Sleeter…

The representation of a variety of stakeholders' voices during the deliberation of public issues is vital for the proper functioning of a liberal democracy. This qualitative study examined an activity involving deliberation among children and preservice teachers in the United States. In the activity that we call partner journals, children were…