9: Educator Preparation Programs: Incorporating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Frameworks

Given the current socio-political climate, the ongoing and politically charged book bans, curricula censorship, and school-based Critical Race Theory bans teachers and school leaders are feeling powerless within the educational system (Jayakumar & Kohli, 2023; Johnson et al., 2022; Wallace-Wells, 2021). Despite being front line workers charged with the vital task of educating children, they find themselves embroiled in the whims of political directives in classrooms nationwide without the professional autonomy to truly respond to student needs. The often precarious linkage between politics and education has even greater ramifications for both current and future educators—and students nationwide as the political gaze has now set its sights on dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) throughout higher education, state school funding, and more specifically, teacher preparation programs. This chapter addresses these fundamental issues, with particular focus on DEI frameworks.