“Run Like Hell” to “Look Before You Leap”: Teacher educators’ responses to preparing teachers for diversity and social justice in the wake of edTPA

Abstract

The context and content of teacher education is continually impacted by political and policy shifts. One of the latest mandates to impact teacher education is an external evaluation called the edTPA. This assessment aims to determine a teacher candidate’s readiness for teaching and is being used as a certification requirement in some states. This chapter presents results of a study conducted with teacher education faculty to understand how edTPA impacts the work of preparing teachers for social justice. The study examined online survey data from higher education teacher educators who are currently using edTPA. While the results of the survey showed that some within the teacher education community welcomed the ensuing programmatic changes, most voiced concerns about a variety of changes that came with implementation.