Antiracist Professional Development for In-Service Teachers

The "ideal" 21st century teacher in public schools has a keen understanding of the racialized history of education and has already taken a critical stance regarding that history. This teacher is a changemaker and able to create classroom conditions that enable children and youth to be changemakers as well. In order to convert teachers into this ideal educator, alternative professional development must be undertaken that has as its goal the transformation of teachers and teachings for the eventual transformation of classroom environments and educational experiences, particularly for students of color. Unfortunately, such transformative teacher professional development has been in short supply in the age of high-stakes standardized testing and the deprofessionalization of the teaching profession. Anti-Racist Professional Development for In-Service Teachers: Emerging Research and Opportunities is a crucial reference book that addresses the historical, sociological, and pedagogical background concerning racial issues in education and proposes an alternative model for professional development as a tool for transforming schools and teachers to be critically sensitive and become changemakers. The book includes data from the author's national survey of teacher professional development, examples of assignments, teacher work products, and the author's self-critique/reflections, which draw upon 20 years of working to transform teachers and teaching on how to improve outcomes. The book also presents composite profiles of P-12 teachers such as the transformations of teachers who already "knew it all," the new teacher at a punitive public charter school with high turnover, teachers who take leadership within the school and in the larger community, and teachers who significantly changed their practice for the long-term. Moreover, the authors offer policy recommendations for funding and designing teacher professional development experiences that meet the needs of professional teachers who intend to stay in the field of education, provide immediate impact on students, and that engage all students to become critical changemakers. As such, this book is ideal for teachers, educational leaders, administrators, policymakers, academicians, researchers, and students.