Preliminary Multiple Subject/Single Subject Program Standards

General Education Multiple Subject/Single Subject (GE) Program Standard 1: Program Design and Curriculum

GE Program Standard 1 is met as follows:

The theoretical framework that guides the design and implementation of the Educators for Liberation, Justice, and Joy (ELJJ) teacher education programs at Mills College at Northeastern is underpinned by a deep commitment and concern for culturally-sustaining pedagogy (Alim, Paris, & Wong, 2020), anti-racist (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995), anti-oppressive (Kumashiro, 2015), and universally designed practice (Mace, 2020; Courey, Tappe, Siker, & LePage, 2013). The overarching social equity framework builds on the legacy of a principled approach to practice (Kroll, Donahue, Galguera, LaBoskey, Tucher, Richert, & Cossey,  2005) that is both  particular and contextualized for the assets and needs of candidates and faculty in each credential program. 

Several theories inform the design and practice throughout each of the particular preliminary teaching credential programs. Our approach is built upon constructivist and developmental theory (Piaget, ; Hayes, & Pridham, 2019), critical pedagogy (Freire, 1970), critical race theory (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995), embodied pedagogy (David, 2010), decolonized education (Batiste, 2013), and trauma-informed practice (Thomas, Crosby, & Vanderhaar, 2019). Transformational preparation of teachers  demands an explicit and unapologetic centering of praxis as the core of our work. We recognize that we must go beyond linking theory with practice and support teachers who view teaching and education as a crucial element for social justice and who  habitually reflect on practice. We also aim to prepare teachers who are familiar with and fluent in current research and capable of adopting an inquiry stance toward practice. Course content, pedagogies, tasks, activities, and products associated with the four credential programs we aim to offer at Mills College at Northeastern recognize that educators learn and develop as they engage in planning, implementing, assessing, and reflecting on practice. 

The Educators for Liberation, Justice, and Joy (ELJJ) teacher education program at Mills College at Northeastern University encompasses Multiple and Single Subject in either traditional and internship options. As such, ELJJ  is committed to preparing educators who address pressing issues in US schools by focusing on racial and gender justice for educational equity and access. Adhering to critical race theory tenets (Ladson-Billings, 2023), the program’s  design, implementation, and representation  emphasize the  role that race plays in shaping educational opportunities and outcomes. Schools and educational systems are not neutral, but are shaped by historical and structural factors that perpetuate racial inequalities. Critical race theory also emphasizes the importance of understanding the experiences and cultural backgrounds of students of color, and incorporating this understanding into teaching practices to create more inclusive and equitable classrooms. We strive to prepare educators who rely on  culturally relevant pedagogy, which involves incorporating the experiences, cultures, and perspectives of diverse students into the curriculum and teaching methods. Critical pedagogy (Freire, 2018) is among the foundational theories that inform our programmatic design, instructional approaches, and framing of the teaching profession for ELJJ teacher candidates. We routinely ask teacher candidates to question the power and status conditions and implications of their particular teaching contexts.

Intersectionality (Crenshaw, 2017) provides us with a useful framework to prepare teacher candidates from diverse backgrounds who will develop as educators and leaders capable of addressing  racial and gender justice. intersectionality involves understanding the ways in which multiple identities and social categories intersect to create unique experiences of oppression and privilege. By explicitly highlighting the ways in which different forms of oppression, such as racism, sexism, and homophobia, intersect and overlap in the experiences of marginalized individuals and groups, we strive to provide experiences, content, and project that explore  ways in which intersecting forms of oppression affect students' experiences and opportunities in schools.

An inquiry stance in teaching and teacher education (Cochran-Smith & Demers, 2010) is a disposition we embrace and aim to develop among teacher candidates. An inquiry stance in teaching moves beyond reflection in practice, injecting rigor and structure in questioning and gaining understanding of teaching practice. This applies to both teachers and teacher educators. An inquiry stance incorporates skepticism into one’s own teaching, particularly in terms of equity and student outcomes. Finally, responding to constant change in education is ideally informed by disciplined development of inquiry questions, data gathering and analysis, and conclusions one draws from such a process. 

ELJJ combines these theories to ensure that teacher candidates understand how institutional racism can impact their teaching practices and their students' learning outcomes. By incorporating critical pedagogy into their teaching practices, teachers can help their students become more aware of the social and political issues that impact their lives. By adopting  a sociocultural perspective, teachers can design instructional strategies that are culturally responsive and meaningful for their students. By relying on culturally responsive pedagogy, teachers can create an inclusive learning environment that supports all students. By recognizing the role of social justice in education, candidates learn to emphasize the importance of creating an educational system that values the human experience. By considering and valuing  students' backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, teachers can create a learning environment that is supportive and inclusive for all students. By emphasizing the importance of incorporating students' cultural practices, values, and histories into the learning process, candidates understand that culture is not static and that it evolves over time. In embracing  anti-oppressive practices, candidates learn that various forms of oppression can impact learning and that it is important to address them in the learning environment. By recognizing that all students have diverse needs and that it is important to design instruction that is accessible to all students, candidates can create an inclusive learning environment that supports all students, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. Finally, by assuming an inquiry stance toward practice, candidates learn to be skeptical of their own teaching practice and rely on evidence, rather than impressions. What follows are specific ways in which the program design and curriculum are informed by a framework that is made up of the theoretical foundations and research principles described above.

• Emphasis on preparing teachers to value and build upon the rich diversity in California classrooms: Starting from the title of the program, Educators for Liberation, Justice, and Joy, we are explicit and direct in asking candidates to consider critical implications of teaching students from culturally, linguistically, socially, demographically, and gender diverse backgrounds. Consideration of  race and racism in schools and ways in which intersectional identities interphase with institutional, professional, social, cultural, and linguistic norms and constraints appears in how instructors frame education and teaching as well as in materials, assignments, and assessments throughout the program. Critical race theory and critical language theory are perspectives underpinning discussions of developmental theory as well as learning and students’ voice in schools. The content, projects, assignments, and activities in the ELJJ course sequence provide multiple opportunities for students to develop a critical perspective.

• Centering praxis in teacher preparation: Attention to praxis is demonstrated by asking candidates to complete clinical placements concurrently with coursework. By combining internship and traditional path candidates, candidates are better able to examine and discuss teaching experiences from multiple perspectives. Further, tasks, assignments, and projects explicitly and purposefully aim to blend practical and theoretical understandings of child development, learning, and teaching. These ELJJ design features allow us to center praxis, while incorporating authentic assessment practices and tools, including those designed to scaffold candidates’ compilation of their edTPA materials. The programmatic sequence for ELJJ demonstrates our attention to praxis. Moreover, we privilege clinical experiences through strategic synchronous/asynchronous course calendaring and scheduling. All courses are built on four-synchronous-meeting modules, which are distributed over the course of intensive summer sessions or semesters, as appropriate. The synchronous/asynchronous modalities allow us to offer distance-learning options for selected courses, expanding our reach to districts beyond the immediate Bay Area. Further, this scheduling arrangement allows us to schedule synchronous meetings during weekends, which is especially favorable for interns.

• Developing an inquiry stance for teaching: Finally, gathering and analysis of data in order to inform one’s teaching is another norm that can be found in the structure, curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment throughout ELJJ. From multiple surveys that students are asked to complete that help us inform clinical placements, clinical and academic experiences, to assignments and projects requiring candidates to gather data from their clinical placements, to the classroom research model that characterizes the MA degree program associated with all credential programs, to the scholarship on teaching and learning research model that faculty practice, these are all explicit manifestations of an inquiry stance toward practice.

The ELJJ programs’ goals and distinctive features are: 

• Praxis as the core element: We situate the work of preparing teachers in reflective action that transforms pedagogy, curricula, schools, and society. The program’s experiences, structures, products, and requirements combine practice and theory explicitly and purposefully. 

• Coaching as cognitive apprenticeship: We rely on experienced and knowledgeable coaches to apprentice teachers into the complexities and joys of teaching. 

• Inquiry stance development: Because teaching and learning are defined by complex social contexts, we instill in teachers an inquiry stance toward practice. The program prepares students with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to base their teaching on what and how students learn. 

• Lesson study cohort-based program: The program year begins at its earnest in early summer, engaging students in community building exercises while completing course work in a summer school context. Coach-led cohorts are multidisciplinary and across grade levels. 

• Access and flexibility: The program recognizes the resources and needs of each student and aims to collaborate to achieve their respective professional goals. Individual pathways are possible for students who are teaching full time, part time, or in a student teaching arrangement. 

• Culturally sustaining, anti-oppressive, anti-racist focus: With a long tradition of preparing teachers who work with multiple marginalized students.

Continue to Program Standard 2: Preparing Candidates to Master the Teaching Performance Expectations (TPEs)

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