Social justice-oriented teacher education programs infuse critical pedagogies in their coursework to build teachers' capacity to design and enact teaching that seeks to disrupt systemic oppression and injustice. Graduates of these programs often seek teaching positions in schools that serve working class communities of color with the goal of…

In the spring of 2020, a global pandemic caused an immediate transition to online, synchronous learning platforms in much of the world. In discussion-based classrooms, where students construct learning from the material and their interactions with each other, the shift posed new challenges to educators and students. This mixed methods action…

This qualitative instrumental case study examines the practices, curriculum, and experiences of teacher educators and White preservice teachers at one credential program in NorCal through the frameworks of White Racial Identity Development and Critical Pedagogy. This study examined five teaching constructs: policy, pedagogy, curriculum, discourse,…

All too often, race and equity are not discussed in early childhood contexts for fear that children are too young or innocent to grapple with such topics. In this yearlong action research study, I examine how children's literature can be used to implement an antiracist pedagogy in early childhood classrooms. Through the enactment of a critical…

Purpose: The Open for Antiracism program supports faculty to change their teaching practices to be antiracist through the affordances of open educational resources (OER) and open pedagogy. This study aims to raise questions about how professional development impacts student outcomes, and how faculty perceive the utility of OER and open pedagogy to…

Farms and gardens are increasingly being recognized as dynamic educational settings through which learners can engage in a wide variety of activities and practices to connect with land, food, self, and community. Across these settings, teaching with political clarity represents a pathway for identifying, interrogating, and disrupting systems of…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, issues regarding social justice, diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect were at amplified levels. Pacific Oaks College (PO) endeavored to keep its promise and maintain its mission and core values by connecting Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (Paris, 2012) with Engaged Pedagogy (Florence, 1998) to leverage critical…

Adult education is a field that needs teachers that exhibit social justice dispositions in their classrooms. As the students in these classrooms are predominantly people of color, the teachers who support them in the pursuit of their educational goals need to have a deeper understanding of their culture and backgrounds in order to enable trust and…

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) programs and curricula have emerged as a priority in schools over the past three decades, with greater urgency since the COVID-19 pandemic. While SEL programs may show promise in supporting students' social and emotional needs generally, current SEL practices apply color-evasive approaches, leading to White-centered…

Following the murder of George Floyd and the wide-spread recognition of systemic discriminatory abuse of power by police, organizations across the country were jolted into reviewing their own policies and practices for evidence of prejudice and racial injustice. Teacher education programs were no exception. As teacher education grapples with this…

This study explores the experience of teacher candidates and instructors in teacher education programs in California and Denmark. With both California and Denmark grappling with the way their current education system is or is not meeting the needs of the current population, this comparative study aims to better understand the dichotomy present.…

We present a mathematical activity called graph talks as a new pedagogical routine to intertwine social justice issues and mathematics. Adapted from "number talks," graph talks involve students analyzing, interpreting, and discussing real-life data represented in graphs. Graphs may be strategically selected to both highlight a relevant…

This article, relying on a series of epiphanies throughout my journey as a researcher and scholar-activist, shares my relationship with criticality and how it has guided my research and teaching agendas. I share how critical theories have informed my main research areas and the questions and issues I have raised in my own work. The article also…

Over the last few decades, there has been an international focus on productive talk in science classrooms, requiring teachers to use more dialogic practices with their students. Studies promoting a dialogic approach propose that students have conversations in small, student-led groups. However, the literature in education and science education…

Over a period of nine years (2011-2019), I have had the opportunity to engage with -- and to contextualize through a decolonial and mental health lens -- the growing threats to and the policing of students at different Southern Californian community colleges. These interactions occurred with a non-White majority of students, mainly Xicanas/os, who…