This paper sheds light on the professional experiences and identities of male educators of color (MEC) participating in monthly group gatherings throughout an academic year in a geographic region where male educators of color represent an inordinately low percentage of the overall school and district wide faculty. This paper examines how a group…

While research indicates that critical professional development (CPD) can function as an alternative to dominant forms of top-down, anti-dialogical professional learning in K-12 settings, there is limited research on CPD in higher education, or among teacher education faculty specifically. In this article, we examine how participation in a…

Because it is not clear that teachers will volunteer for good professional development if it is made available, this study used surveys--including social network analysis--and interviews to examine why teachers did and did not participate in one school's high-quality study group. While all teachers were motivated by intrinsic incentives, two…

This paper draws on practitioner inquiry and participatory action research methodologies to recount how five K-12 educators, who inhabit a range of positionalities and levels of teaching experience, engage in a collaborative professional development program, called Teaching Out Loud as they draw upon critical literacy theory and practice to…

This article addresses the ways in which early career teacher educators can support each other as they enter the academic community. By utilizing technology as an instrument to engage in a cross-country critical friendship, the authors were able to engage in a dialogue that grew out of mutual interests and concerns. Through critical reflection,…

Many general education educators have little pre-service preparation or in-service professional development for teaching students who are English language learners (ELL). Yet, ELLs are one of the fastest growing student populations in the United States. While teachers typically espouse the view that all students can learn, they do not often have…

In this article, we discuss how an interdisciplinary faculty team at a midsized public university created supports for the Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA), a high-stakes performance assessment for preservice candidates being adopted by many states. We provide a general description of our work in contending with the challenge of developing a…

This article discusses what it means to be a beginning teacher from the perspective of four mid-career entrants to the profession. Findings from this ethnographic study suggest that regardless of preservice teacher preparation or school districts' formal induction practices, newcomers experience a dramatic threshold or liminal phase among…

For new educators, the obstacles of high-stakes testing, curricular mandates, and their own inexperience and self-doubt can render teaching for justice and equity overwhelming, seemingly impossible ideals. However, as students are increasingly tied to prescriptive curricula and academic performance standards, the goals of social justice and…

Recently developed Professional Development School standards underscore the importance of professional learning community, inquiry, shared decision-making and a focus on student learning. These standards closely mirror the goals of "Critical Friends Groups," a significant movement in education to improve student achievement through…