Abstract
Scholars have long demonstrated the ways in which U.S. K-12 schooling centers whiteness, perpetuates singular epistemologies, and negatively impacts equity outcomes in terms of achievement and success for students of color (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; Love, 2019). In response, teacher professional development (PD) is often imagined as a solution to intervene into the status quo that is upheld in teacher education and perpetuated in K-12 schools (Leonard & Woodland, 2022; Parkhouse et al., 2023; Picower, 2011; Picower, 2015; Riordan et al., 2019). However, scholars have shown that even equity focused PD does not interrupt and may, in fact, reproduce the same patterns within the profession (Fernandez, 2019).
This qualitative study utilized a critical, anti-colonial, descriptive case study approach to explore how a year-long professional development program focused on social justice impacts teachers’ classroom practices. It documents the nuanced and intentional pedagogical, curricular, and mentorship approaches that were key hallmarks of a critical, racial-justice teacher professional development program led by teacher credential faculty facilitators that is currently in its 8th year of partnership with a local district. In addition to providing a glimpse into the approach of this long-term critical teacher PD, what members call “The Institute”, interviews conducted with classroom teachers who participated demonstrated the multiple benefits of the program, including their ability to create critical, age relevant, YPAR (Youth Participatory Action Research) curriculum for their students. The findings reveal how participating in this particular long-term professional development program focused on socially just teaching practices creates a supportive and reaffirming space for teachers, aids in the development of teachers’ leaderships skills and advocacy, increases student engagement, helps to develop agency and advocacy in students, and highlights a new way to envision critical teacher professional development.