From Individual to Institutional: A Multiple Case Study of Equity Development in Teacher Preparation Faculty

Résumé fourni par la source

Grounded in critical pedagogy, this qualitative multiple case study examined a 3-year equity-focused professional development initiative for teacher education faculty at a Southeastern university. Using surveys, focus groups, and document analysis, the study explored how two departments responded to structured efforts designed to strengthen faculty capacity for equity-minded teaching. While both departments engaged with the initiative, they demonstrated markedly different trajectories. One moved from personal identity work to substantive changes in teaching practice, anchored by a strong recognition of systemic barriers. The other engaged identity concepts but largely contained equity work at the level of individual difference through ability-based framings. These divergent orientations extended to how faculty in each department navigated shared political pressures, suggesting that a department’s existing equity orientation shapes its capacity to sustain that work amid external resistance. Findings also reveal significant challenges in maintaining momentum over time. Findings underscore both the transformative potential and persistent institutional challenges of supporting faculty in developing equity-minded teaching practice, particularly when that work unfolds against the backdrop of organized political resistance to equity initiatives in education.