Preservice Teachers Learning to Teach in an Anti-Racist/Climate-Justice Program: Challenges and Promises

Abstract

The global climate crisis represents the most urgent problem facing the planet, impacting social, cultural, political, economic, and environmental dimensions of life. Alarmingly, it has impacted communities of color in disproportionate ways (Goddell, 2023; Pellow, 2013). The climate crisis, along with the intertwined context of racism, places a profound responsibility on social justice teacher educators to prioritize addressing these issues in teacher preparation. The intent of the following two case studies is to explore the impact of a project based teacher preparation program focused on cultural and environmental justice on the pedagogical knowledge and practice of teaching interns at the beginning in the first semester of their program.

Keywords

• Climate Change Education
• School University Partnership
• Adaptive Expertise
• Curriculum
• Teacher Preparation
• Project Based Teaching and Learning