Chapter 3: Teachers as Change Agents: Challenging Future Teachers to Advocate for Evidence-Based Principles of Learning, Development, and Motivation

The next generation of teachers will face a multitude of challenges upon entry into the field of education. As the curricular demands and expectations for educators increase, it becomes increasingly challenging for teachers to continue to meet the developmental learning needs of their students. With this, there is a need for teacher education programs to respond to the ever-changing expectations placed on teachers. Future teachers must have a firm understanding of how individual students’ skills, background characteristics, and internal characteristics combine to influence their readiness to learn in the classroom. They must also develop the skills to effectively advocate for children in the schools based on their knowledge of educational psychology principles, such as motivation, effort, individual interests, diversity in development, and cultural diversity. Training the next generation of teachers to view themselves as change agents in schools as they support the academic, social, emotional, and behavioral development of youth is of paramount importance for teacher education programs. In fact, Fullan (1993) posited that all teacher education programs should be focused on training future teachers to be effective at creating and managing change. This is important so that teachers are prepared and ready to advocate for changes at the outset of teaching; otherwise, they may become complacent, overwhelmed, or too caught up in the day-to-day work to recognize the need for change, as well as to understand their ability to advocate and participate in reform efforts.