This study examined how the concept of social justice was operationalized in the university coursework of students enrolled in an urban teacher residency program that aims to diversify the teaching corps and prepare secondary STEM teachers for urban classroom environments. Based on analysis of 39 syllabi and interviews with nine faculty members,…

Urban teacher residencies and university-district partnerships are growing in popularity in the United States and are vital for the clinical practice of preservice teachers. Because urban residencies and university-district partnerships are situated in historically marginalized communities, they strive to prepare teachers with a mind and skill set…

Racial injustice in U. S. society cannot be separated from that which happens in U.S. classrooms. Indeed, many battles between white supremacy and antiracism are waged in the public school arena---such as, the whitewashing of slavery in textbooks, and the Supreme Court decision to ban Mexican American Studies in Arizona. Thus, this dissertation…

Teacher attrition rates are high in urban schools, particularly for new science teachers. Little research has addressed how science teachers can be prepared to effectively bridge the divide between preparation and urban teaching. We utilized the theoretical frameworks of social justice, identity, and structure-agency to investigate this…

This article examines trends in learning among a multiracial group of activist urban educators in an inquiry group dedicated to the topic of structural racism. I find that deep learning about race and racism requires teachers to engage in risk-taking in 2 realms--conceptual and relational. Conceptual risk-taking involves grappling with ideas in…

This study speaks to the limited literature on economics pedagogy as part of a broader, critical, social studies pedagogy. Specifically, it seeks to understand the way that preservice teachers in an urban teaching program conceptualize the function of economics within social studies. Utilizing case study methods and a theoretical framework that…

In this case study, we examine the consequential validity of using edTPA in a social justice-oriented, urban teacher preparation program. According to the developers of edTPA, a primary purpose is to support teacher candidate learning, yet our analysis suggests that edTPA does not support learning when used during student teaching. Our 16…

The current narrative surrounding urban education, while incomplete, often focuses on concerns related to student achievement, failing schools, and teacher quality. This article targets teacher preparation as one response to these challenges and investigates the extent to which liberal arts colleges and universities are involved in this work. The…

It has been a decade since the article "Math Links: Building Learning Communities in Urban Settings" (referenced throughout as Math Links) was published in the inaugural issue of the "Journal of Urban Mathematics Education" ("JUME"; Leonard & Evans, 2008). The Math Links study, as reported in that article,…

Racial battle fatigue (RBF) has been operationalized as the psychological, emotional, and physiological toll of confronting racism. In this article, RBF is used to analyze the toll of racism on teachers of Color who work within a predominantly White profession. We present counterstories of justice-oriented, urban, teachers of Color who demonstrate…

This graphic memoir of teaching in urban America is a brilliant reimagining of the classic text by Gregory Michie, "Holler If You Hear Me: The Education of a Teacher and His Students." Michie is joined by illustrator Ryan Alexander-Tanner and 10 artists--most of them young people of color--to bring a fresh, vibrant energy to the original…

This article investigates the experiences of three early-career secondary English urban teachers who sought to strengthen their perspectives and practices of social justice teaching through professional development. Data include teacher interviews across their first three years of teaching, artifacts across three participants representing their…

Understanding the critical thought process of preservice teachers in an urban teaching environment is essential for the establishment of a social justice oriented teacher education curriculum. Utilizing artifacts taken from a preservice teacher education program, specifically monthly critically reflective teaching journals, four distinct thinking…

In this article, we describe the promise of professional development for teachers by considering the following questions: (1) What do teachers who work in urban public schools see as the intended purposes of professional development, and what do they identify as their needs? (2) Can a move from professional development as absent of what teachers…

The purpose of this mixed-method study was to explore preservice teachers' beliefs and preconceptions about teaching for social justice in two pathways to teacher licensure: a traditional, university-based teacher preparation program and an urban teacher residency (UTR) program. Participants were enrolled in a post-baccalaureate education program…