Transformative Teacher Education

Disrupting Pedagogy, Practice, and Ideology to Forge Culturally Relevant and Sustaining Education

Donna-Marie Cole, Juliet Curci, Luca Poxon

• Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
• Year: 2026
• Print ISBN:
  9781806869084
  9781806869060
• eBook ISBN:
  9781806869077
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education Teaching Methods

At a time when diversity, equity, and inclusion in education face unprecedented challenges, this groundbreaking volume brings together the collective journeys of over 20 faculty members from across Pennsylvania. Through vivid storytelling and practical strategies, Transformative Teacher Education explores how educators are embedding Culturally Relevant and Sustaining Education (CRSE) into teacher preparation, challenging traditional approaches and affirming that justice must remain central to the mission of teaching.

With chapters grounded in Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, Targeted Universalism, and CRSE frameworks, Transformative Teacher Education offers both reflection and actionable guidance for educators, policymakers, and anyone who believes that teaching is political, transformative, and rooted in love and liberation.

Discover how policy, resistance, and solidarity shape the future of teacher education—and why culturally sustaining practice is essential for every classroom.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Series Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• About the Editors
• About the Contributors
• Foreword
• Introduction
• 1. Origins of CRSE in Pennsylvania and the Community of Practice
• Section 1A. Making Sense of Culturally Relevant and Sustaining Education
• 2. What Happens When You Mandate a Revolution? Navigating Culturally Relevant and Sustaining Education
• 3. From Playground to Pedagogy: How My Lived Experiences Cultivated Culturally Relevant and Sustaining Educational Practice
• 4. Moments Worth Pondering: Critically Storying to Find Culturally Sustaining Ways Forward
• 5. Swimming in Rip Tides: A Critical Race Feminist Analysis of Resistance to Culturally Relevant and Sustaining Education Competencies in Teacher Education
• Section 1B. Reflection Questions and Activities
• Section 2A. System-Level Implementation of Culturally Relevant and Sustaining Education
• 6. Insights on Implementing Anti-Racist and Culturally Relevant and Sustaining Practices in Higher Education
• 7. A Dean and Faculty “Doing the Work” of CRSE: How We Built a Wall and a Plan to Deconstruct It
• 8. Building a Culture of CRSE: Lessons Learned From Millersville University’s Implementation Journey
• 9. Nurturing Growth in Teacher Preparation: Cultivating Social-Emotional Skills for Culturally Relevant Teaching
• 10. Leading Program-Level Change: Reflections on the Development of a CRSE-Aligned Fieldwork Rubric
• Section 2B. Reflection Questions and Activities
• Section 3A. Course-Level Implementation of Culturally Relevant and Sustaining Education
• 11. Understanding and Embedding Culturally Relevant Teaching Through the Use of CRSE Competencies at a Historically Black University
• 12. Learning Duet: Navigating a Professor’s Reflection With Student Voice When Integrating CRSE Competencies Into a Secondary Education Methods Course
• 13. Bridging the Gap: Transforming an Early Literacy Methods Course With Sustained Culturally Relevant Practices
• 14. The Realities of Imperfect Field Placements: Fostering Culturally Relevant and Sustaining Education in Pre-Service Field Experiences
• 15. Welcome or Watch Out! The Role of the Syllabus in Setting up an Inclusive and Culturally Relevant Student Course Experience
• Section 3B. Reflection Questions and Activities
• Conclusion
• Epilogue
• Appendix A. Final Report: Evaluation of the CRSE Community of Practice
• Appendix B. Finding and Building Community in Support of CRSE: Guiding Questions to Inform the Launch of a Community of Practice