Chapter 7: The Complexity of Public Advocacy in Teacher Education

Standard 7 of the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) Standards for Teacher Educators is Public Advocacy. This standard has three indicators and describes the need for teacher educators to use their voices inside and outside the profession to promote high-quality education for all. Embedded, but not explicitly stated in this edition of the standards, is the importance of equity, the need to ensure opportunity and access to high-quality education for all students. This standard also indicates that in order for teacher educators to serve as advocates, they must have awareness of and stay abreast of current topics, issues and trends, public opinions, threats, and proposed bills and policies that are being made within their institutions, their county and surrounding counties, their states, and their nations at large in which their teacher preparation programs are situated. Most importantly, teacher educators should utilize research as the basis for advocacy. The three cases in this chapter illustrate different ways teacher educators have used their voices to address policy issues to support students, with varying success.