About the Book
“This book comes to us in a moment when many educators feel overwhelmed and disillusioned by the weight of systemic challenges…Transformative Teacher Education arrives as a beacon of possibility, reminding us that change is not only necessary but achievable.”
— Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, Columbia University, Foreword, p. xx
Transformative Teacher Education: Disrupting Pedagogy, Practice, and Ideology to Forge Culturally Relevant and Sustaining Education is for anyone who believes in the transformative power of education.
This edited volume documents the collective journeys of over 20 faculty members across more than a dozen Pennsylvania institutions of higher education as they worked to embed Culturally Relevant and Sustaining Education (CRSE) into teacher preparation. Grounded in Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy and frameworks like Targeted Universalism & CRSE, the book offers both reflection and strategy for disrupting traditional approaches to teaching and learning. At a time when DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) is under attack, this work affirms that justice must remain central to the mission of teacher education. The chapters share how we made sense of policy, navigated resistance, and found solidarity through community.
Transformative Teacher Teacher Education can be purchased from Emerald Publishing, Target, Amazon, and other booksellers.
Cover art by Delaney Kegel. Cover design by House of Beautiful Business.
Suggested Audience
“How did my own schooling experiences prepare me—or not—for engaging with culturally relevant and sustaining education? What biases or assumptions am I bringing into my teaching practice?” p. 325
The audience for this book includes anyone who cares deeply about the future of education and equitable outcomes for all learners, regardless of their location or role in the educational ecosystem. This includes faculty members and higher education leaders, pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, district leaders, principals, superintendents, and state department of education officials, policymakers, families, community members, and anyone else committed to how people are supported to thrive through education.
Context for the Work
In Pennsylvania, there is a significant demographic mismatch between teachers of color and students of color (8% vs. 40%). This means that over 100,000 students of color and over 500,000 white students never experience having a teacher of color in their K-12 educational experience. In recognition of this and the need for all Pennsylvania educators to be well-equipped with the knowledge and skills to meet the needs of all learners, the State Board of Education approved regulations that included requirements for culturally relevant and sustaining education (CRSE) in teacher preparation and in-service teacher professional development. Educators from across Pennsylvania had requested and supported this development and many contributed to collaborating with the Pennsylvania Department of Education to draft the CRSE Competencies, published as guidelines by the department. However, as enthusiastic as many members of the higher education and K-12 communities were about the CRSE Competencies’ existence, there was vocal concern about the mechanics of their implementation.
“While teacher educators across Pennsylvania largely acknowledged the importance of including culturally relevant and sustaining education within their programs, the overwhelming sentiment from these teacher educators was that they did not have background knowledge or expertise regarding how to do so.” p. 31
With funding provided by a Philadelphia-based family foundation, Temple University, in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Educator Diversity Consortium, convened a community of practice of teacher education faculty from across PA. This group spent several years, beginning in 2022, meeting regularly to discuss implementation of the CRSE Competencies, share and develop resources, receive peer support, and promote the importance of and ways to integrate culturally relevant and sustaining education in K-12 and higher education.
This book includes the stories of the educators who participated in this community of practice and illuminates their (and colleagues’) experiences of sense-making, navigating resistance, and finding solidarity through community in their efforts to be culturally relevant and sustaining educators.
We are proud and grateful to have this text included in Dr. Chance Lewis’ Contemporary Perspectives on Access, Equity, and Achievement series with Emerald Publishing.