Chapter 7: Creating Clarity Through Understanding Complexity: Building a Case for Development as a Critical Component of Educator Preparation

Messages conveyed by the United States’ educational system are characterized by promises of opportunity and fulfillment (Isseks, 2017; Labaree, 2012; Mijs, 2016; Ruck et al., 2019). Education in this country is often touted as being a great equalizer, with promises of wisdom, social mobility, and economic security (Isseks, 2017; Ruck et al., 2019). Yet, despite the possibilities that education is promised to afford, much research has shown considerable declines in performance, motivation, and attendance as youth progress through school (Boykin, 2015; Eccles et al., 1993; Roeser &Eccles, 1998). Further, educational practices, programs, and policies have challenged the idea of education as an equalizing force, instead producing outcomes that point more toward a social stratification system (Isseks, 2017; Labaree, 2012; Mijs, 2016). Schools serve multiple purposes, including the acquisition of subject matter content; however, a more informal, nonacademic curriculum exists within the school setting. Specifically, the school system teaches children and adolescents rules, norms, and values pertinent in society (Brint, 2017; Hamilton, 1983; Peguero &Bondy, 2015). As a socializing context, a great deal is learned from teachers, peers, and others about acceptable behaviors, tolerable beliefs, which individuals and groups are deemed worthy of success, and who is relegated to failure (Brint, 2017; Byrd &Hope, 2020). Examinations of who thrives and who struggles in formal education reveal complex processes at play (Mijs, 2016; Peguero &Bondy, 2015), particularly by the time students enter secondary education (Hoffman et al., 2021).