Web 2.0 technologies for facilitating social justice teacher education
Many researchers argue that observed social inequalities are often rooted in the structural issues of educational systems. Rather than being opportunities for equality and individual liberty, educational systems reproduce the status quo through disenfranchisement and marginalization of subordinate groups. Social justice education aims to challenge these discriminatory systems through critically conscious instruction. However, how best to prepare socially-just educators remains a problem of practice. This study examines how teacher education courses may play a role in shifting students' dispositions to be more socially-just and deepening their understanding of issues of inequality in education. It further explores how the use of educational technologies – such as blogs wikis, and videos – may enhance the effectiveness of these teacher education courses. Two versions of social justice teacher education course were examined – one section was taught using traditional methods, while the other was taught using technology-enhanced versions of major assignments. Results indicate that both versions of the course were very effective at developing students’ knowledge and dispositions related to social justice. The technology-enhanced version of the course, however, did not offer a significant advantage over traditional methods either. These findings have implications not only for future research and practice, but, hopefully, positive social change.
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- In Collections
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Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Copyright Status
- In Copyright
- Material Type
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Theses
- Authors
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Dickens, Eric M.
- Thesis Advisors
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Koehler, Matthew
- Committee Members
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Carter Andrews, Dorinda
Wong, David
Calabrese-Barton, Angela
- Date Published
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2015
- Degree Level
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Doctoral
- Language
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English
- Pages
- x, 214 pages
- ISBN
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9781339038292
1339038293
- Permalink
- https://doi.org/doi:10.25335/r3gv-8v97