A Path Forward: A Critical Race Mixed-Methods Study of Social Justice Teacher Education

Teacher preparation programs are being called to comprehensively engage preservice teachers (PSTs) in expansive learning about equity issues beyond one “diversity” course or superficial approach. Our interdisciplinary faculty collaborative within a Midwestern predominantly-white institution met this call by implementing a Critical Social Justice Teacher Education (CSJTE) framework, redesigning three foundational PST courses around social justice. We then conducted a critical race mixed-methods (CRMM) study to measure the impact upon PSTs’ social-justice dispositions and commitments to action in their future classrooms. The results yielded findings that were both expected and unexpected and present a path forward for critical social justice work in teacher education.