Sage Publications Teaching as Principled Practice: Managing Complexity for Social Justice

Teaching as Principled Practice: Managing Complexity for Social Justice presents a practical vision for effective teacher development emphasizing social justice. This vision is encompassed in a set of six principles that underlie the authors' work with pre-service teachers, and is intended to guide one's practice in the classroom. The text's primary focus is on children and youth who have been traditionally underserved by educational institutions in the United States. It speaks directly to both pre-service and experienced teachers in a way that addresses the challenges of urban education for teachers and children. Review “Teacher candidates and practicing teachers will find inspiration and ideas for reflection throughout this text. The principled practice demonstrated in each chapter sets the stage for examination of ones beliefs, passions, and values of teaching and learning. The vignettes present realistic problems with evidence that solutions are not simplistic but value laden and complex.” -- Elsa L. Geskus “ Teaching as Principled Practice provides educators with a valuable frame for rethinking and reconfirming the commitment to students and society in a world of globalization and standardization.” -- Miriam Ben-Peretz “This book introduces prospective teachers to (and reminds practicing teachers about) key principles for guiding effective practice in urban settings. Through helpful vignettes and readable text, the authors clarify what these principles mean and how teachers can make these principles an embedded part of their work.” -- Diane Kyle “This text provides much insight and variety of opinion regarding contemporary issues and educational practices in today′s society. The format is unique and would encourage lively discussion in a university class setting.” -- Rebecca S. Compton "This book is itself a collegial project of inquiry and reflection with moral and political dimensions. As an elementary-school teaching-credential student at Mills, I can also attest to the constructivist and collaborative approach to their own instruction and the value these professors place on subject matter content. A rarity in academia, these educators practice what they preach." -- Pat Soberanis ― Mills Quarterly Published On: 2006-05-23 About the Author Linda R. Kroll, Ph.D. is a professor in the Department of Education at Mills College.  She has taught at Mills since 1988 and served for two years as Dean and Chair of the department.  She co-directs the Early Childhood portion of the Teachers for Tomorrow’s Schools program known as Developmental Perspectives in Teaching.  Her research interests focus on applying developmental and constructivist theory to understanding and facilitating children’s and teachers’ learning. She has been a preschool teacher for emotionally disturbed children, and an elementary school teacher in Vallejo, California where she taught combined classes of kindergarteners through third graders for 9 years.  She has been a teacher educator since 1979, where she helped found the UC Berkeley Developmental Teacher Education Program.  Her work with children focused on urban settings with children with special needs, English Language Learners and children of color who are traditionally underserved.  Her work with teachers has focused on urban school settings and in the Mills College Laboratory School.  She is a contributing author to Reframing Teacher Education:  Dimensions of a Constructivist Approach edited by Julie Rainer and to How Students Learn:  Reforming Schools Through Learner-Centered Education edited by Lambert and McCombs. She is currently president of the Association for Constructivist Teaching. Dave Donahue, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Education at Mills College, Oakland, California, where he is also Co-Director of the secondary English-social studies teacher credential program.  Previously, he was a curriculum writer and developmental editor and social studies te