Many Faces of Policy Advocacy Reclaiming Teacher Educators' Voice, - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Many Faces of Policy Advocacy

Reclaiming Teacher Educators' Voice, Knowledge, and Authority in the Struggle for Equity and Justice

Twitter, Instagram: @Aydarova #ReclaimTeacherEd #TeacherEdAdvocacy #ATE100

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“Teacher education is under attack, under assault. And the teacher education community is not at the table to discuss how teacher education should be reformed. We need to do a better job about being involved in policy

• debates. If we don’t do something and soon, in a few

years’ time there will be no university-based teacher education left.” (Goodwin, 2015)

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Political Theater

• Paradox of promising to

improve educational quality by deprofessionalizing teaching and eliminating university- based teacher education

• Those who conceptualize and
• versee reform

implementation are not traditional policymakers

• Ultimate goal of reform not just

changed educational systems but changed societies

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Intermediary Organizations

• Nonprofit
• rganizations
• For-profit
• rganizations
• Think-tanks
• Research institutes
• Advocacy groups

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“

Intermediary organizations have become de facto policymakers as “federal, state, and local policymakers are granting them both authority and financial resources to carry out policy agendas” (Scott et al., 2017, p. 26)

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“Disruptors”

• Disruptors “banked on a strategy
• f testing, competition, and

punishment, which turned out to be ineffective and harmful.” (Ravitch, 2020)

• Disruptors pursued “disruptive

entrepreneurial tradition” and sought to ““destruct,” so that new and better teacher preparation can arise from the rubble.” (Wilson, 2014, p. 185)

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Disruptors in Teacher Education

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Disruptors “Winning the War of Ideas”

• Alternative routes, residency programs, “grow your own teachers”

programs

• High stakes accountability for teacher preparation
• Increased selectivity for teacher preparation programs
• Evaluating teacher preparation programs based on value-added

scores of their graduates

• Introducing “science of reading” assessments or courses
• Performance assessments, such as edTPA

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Disruptors’ Action Example Lesson for Teacher Education Example in Teacher Education

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• 1. Disruptors Pursue a

Shared Vision

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Neoliberal technocracy

Neoliberalism is an ideology based on the premise that

• markets can fix failing social

institutions

• problems in public education

can be solved by applying techniques from the private sector

• policies should meet the

needs of individual consumers

Technocracy is a theory of action based on the premise that

• social problems have technical

solutions

• experts can provide better

solutions than professions or the public

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Technocracy

Technical constructions of social problems

Value-free

• bjective criteria

for making decisions Efficiency, effectiveness, and cost-benefit analyses

Depoliticized solutions

Data-driven decision-making and overreliance

• n experts

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Inequitable Outcomes

“The persistently large achievement gaps between Asian and white students and students of color, and between our affluent and low- income students, fuel doubts about the ability of our nation’s schools and teachers to ensure that all children will acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for full and productive participation in our society” (TPA, 2014, p. 1)

“While family and poverty deeply affect student performance, an effective teacher has even greater impact on student achievement and growth.” (CCSSO, 2012, p. 3)

“Thin Equity”

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Teacher Preparation Accountability as a Solution

“States will hold preparation programs accountable by exercising the state’s authority to determine which programs should operate and recommend candidates for licensure in the state, including establishing a clear and fair performance rating system to guide continuous improvement. States will act to close programs that continually receive the lowest rating and will provide incentives for programs whose ratings indicate exemplary performance.” (CCSSO, 2012, p. 19)

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Ways to Reduce Inequality

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Let’s Pursue a Shared Vision of Strong Equity and Social Justice

#ReclaimTeacherEd #TeacherEdAdvocacy #ATE100

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“

“A ‘strong equity’ acknowledges the complex and intersecting historical, economic, and social systems that create inequalities in access to teacher quality in the first place. A strong equity perspective assumes that equity cannot be achieved by teachers and schools alone. Rather, it requires educators, working with policymakers, activists, families, and communities to challenge the structural and systemic aspects of schools and society that reproduce inequity. The idea of strong equity also acknowledges the racialized nature of teacher education accountability initiatives.” (Cochran-Smith et al., 2018, p. 30)

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Education Deans for Justice and Equity (EDJE) is a nationwide alliance of education deans that advances equity and justice in education by speaking and acting collectively and in solidarity with communities regarding policies, reform proposals, and public debates. Guiding Principles

• We believe public education is a basic human right and an essential

cornerstone of a democratic society.

• We believe in the importance of taking action to resist policies and

practices of discrimination and exclusion.

• We believe that the structures of poverty and inequality, which have a

profound impact on educational attainment, must be dismantled.

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• 2. Disruptors Enter

Policy-Making Processes

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Circulating Policy Scripts

Education Playbook: Policies for Transforming State Education Systems

• Problem: “weak or outdated

teacher education programs”

• Solution: alternative routes;

professional development

• ffered by non-profit/for-

profit organizations; “science of reading”

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“Key Effectiveness Indicators Framework” (TPA, 2014, 2016)

Constructing and Circulating Policy Tools

CAEP

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Let’s Look for Ways to Actively Participate in Policy-Making Processes

#ReclaimTeacherEd #TeacherEdAdvocacy #ATE100

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Enter Policy Conversations

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Circulate Alternative Policy Scripts

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Shed Light on Invisible Activities

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• 3. Disruptors Build

Networks and Coalitions

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CCSSO Network for Transforming Educator Preparation

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Policy Innovators in Education (PIE) Network

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PIE Network

“Through the Network, advocates gain relationships, resources, and

best practices that they would not have otherwise had. Working as a ready network enables the rapid dissemination of success stories, ideas, and resources and allows for coordinated, rapid responses to crises and opportunities.” (PIE Network, n.d.) “PIE Network is a resource multiplier. Connected by the Network, advocates have access to research, reports, and tools from other state-based leaders, as well as the Network’s many national partners, to accelerate their efforts and sharpen their strategy.” (PIE Network, n.d.)

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Let’s Build Networks, Coalitions, Working Groups, and Collectives

#ReclaimTeacherEd #TeacherEdAdvocacy #ATE100

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Teacher Education Collective

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Teacher Education Thought Collective

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Teacher Solidarity

https://teachersolidarity.com/blog/ Twitter: @TeachSolidarity Facebook: Teacher Solidarity

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• 4. Disruptors Build

Relationships with Policymakers

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Center for American Progress

“An Equity and Opportunity Agenda for Higher Education” Higher Education Act Reauthorization

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ExcelInEd Summit

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37% 15% 33% 3.50% 2.47% 5.35% 3.70%

ExcelInEd Summit Attendance

State For-Profit NonProfit Philanthropy Academic Charter Schools Other

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Sessions at ExcelInEd Summit

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Let’s Build Relationships with Policymakers

#ReclaimTeacherEd #TeacherEdAdvocacy #ATE100

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Building Relationships Through Special Events

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• 5. Disruptors Mobilize

Knowledge (Or a Lack Thereof)

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Void in Professional Knowledge

• “the absence of an adequate

knowledge base and the lack of data that allow us to identify confidently what the essential characteristics of strong teacher preparation programs are” (CCSSO, 2016)

• “the paucity of research and data

underlying some of teacher preparation’s current practices” (TPA, 2014)

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Professional Knowledge Displacement

• CCSSO.2012.Our Responsibility, Our Promise
• CCSSO.2018.Measuring What Matters
• CCSSO.2016. Accountability in Teacher Preparation
• CAP.2011.Race to the Top and Teacher Preparation
• CAP.2010. Measuring What Matters
• CAP.2011.Getting Better at Teacher Preparation and

• DQC.2017.Using Data to Ensure That Teachers Are

• BEP.2016.Peering around the corner
• TPA.2016.KEI Guide
• TPA.2013. Outcomes, Measures, and Data Systems
• TPA.2014. Building an evidence-based system
• TPA.2016.State Teacher Preparation
• TS.2016. Reimagine Teacher Preparation
• TS.2016.Raise the Bar for Teacher Licensure
• DFI.2010. From Chaos to Coherence
• DFI.2019. Learning Together Through Evidence
• TNTP.2017.Getting Better at Teacher Prep

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Professional Knowledge Displacement

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Disruptors’ Knowledge Production

• “To start on a project, we'll often find meta-analysis or other sort of big

seminal reports, and then start unpacking them.”

• “Then we'll often do interviews as well, so we'll find people that we've

read, or people that are smart people out there, and then reach out to them to try to do interviews.”

• “We have a workaround. A lot of people will give us information. So if we

send an email to someone, they'll send us their paper, or I'll read a lot of working papers that aren't the final version, but they're pretty close.”

• “I'm on Twitter. And so if someone who I know will tweet out an article,

and they're at a university, they almost have standing policies that they will always send an article.”

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Let’s Make Our Knowledge Public by Creating Research Syntheses, Summaries, and Policy Briefs

#ReclaimTeacherEd #TeacherEdAdvocacy #ATE100

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“To me, these synthesis type activities are more pertinent for what policymakers and practitioners can use than individual research

• studies. One individual research study might be interesting to read.

But then another research study next month, might contradict it. So I'm much more inclined to believe that if you can synthesize across wide body of literature over a period of time, that you're much better informed for an action that you want to take, even if your goal is that you want to be informed by research. So broader is better.”

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• 6. Disruptors Make Their

Stories Public

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Fordham Foundation

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Let’s Make Our Stories Public

#ReclaimTeacherEd #TeacherEdAdvocacy #ATE100

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• 7. Disruptors Activate

Voices of Different Communities

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Teacher-Voice Organizations

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Let’s Amplify the Voices

• f Our Communities

#ReclaimTeacherEd #TeacherEdAdvocacy #ATE100

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Policy Advocacy

Teacher Candidates Faculty PhD Students

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ATE Standard 7: Public Advocacy

“Teacher educators advocate both within and outside of the profession for high quality education for all students at all levels. Influencing decision makers and promoting changes to laws and other government policies to advance the mission of a high quality education for all is paramount to the profession.”

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What Can Be Done?

• Pursue a Shared Vision of Strong Equity and Social Justice
• Look for Ways to Actively Participate in Policy-Making Processes
• Build Networks and Coalitions
• Build Relationships with Policymakers
• Mobilize Knowledge
• Make Your Story Public
• Activate Different Communities

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“

“What a privilege in today's world that you have a voice, and you are in a position where you have the opportunity to be informed and to be engaged. So it's not just an opportunity. In many ways, it's a responsibility. If we don't ensure that our voice is heard, then we're giving that voice to somebody else… If we choose not to be engaged and choose not to ensure that [policymakers] know our perspective and what we have to offer them, then we've given up that privilege and that

• pportunity and that power to somebody

else.”

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Thank you!

• I am thankful for the support provided by the American Fellowship from the

American Association of University Women, the National Alumni Council Research Grant, and Auburn University Intramural Research Grant

• Many thanks to my collaborators Professor Nancy Dana and James Rigney, as

well as our study participants for sharing their wisdom with us

• Many thanks to Sedighe Zamani Roodsari for her work on data processing,

entry, and preliminary analysis

• If you have questions, comments, or stories of policy advocacy you want

to share, please, get in touch! eza0029@auburn.edu Twitter, Instagram: @Aydarova https://elenaaydarova.com