Does a Decade Make a Difference? Changes in Pre- and In-service Preschool Teachers’ Knowledge of Early Mathematical Development

This study examines whether, in the wake of considerable research since 2007 on the importance of supporting early mathematical development, teacher education programs have improved instruction over the intervening ten years on this essential area of development. The analysis compares data on pre- and in-service teachers’ knowledge of mathematical development gathered during 2008 as measured by the Knowledge of Mathematical Development Survey (KMDS) and compares it to data gathered in 2017-2018. The results showed that while the KMDS mean scores of students in each of the education groups (beginning versus seniors versus math course) statistically differed for each collection year, there was no statistically significant difference between 2008 and 2017-2018 collection years for beginners. However, there was a statistically significant difference between 2008 and 2017-2018 collection years in average scores in the seniors and math course groups, resulting in lower mean scores in 2017-2018 than those in 2008

A Head Start on STEM: Investigating the Relationship of Teacher Knowledge and Self-Efficacy

Research substantiates that providing high-quality STEM experiences at an early age is important for young children to become college and career ready (Moore et al, 2016). However, not all early childhood educators (ECE) feel knowledgeable and/or confident in supporting STEM instruction. How ECE’s feel, think, and motivate themselves is often influenced by their self-efficacy beliefs. Individuals with strong self-efficacy tend to commit to goals that challenge their current capabilities (Bandura, 1993). Therefore, ECE’s may be more inclined to implement STEM activities if they feel knowledgeable and confident. Professional development (PD) when connected with formative feedback, often leads to increased self-confidence (Blonder & Vescio, 2022). This current study explored how purposefully designed PD opportunities impacted ECE’ self-efficacies and perceptions of STEM instruction, using a mix-methods design with Head Start preschool educators. The findings suggested a significant increase in participants’ self-efficacies for supporting preschool-aged children’s STEM instruction

Form, Identity, Dissent – Reclaiming the Critical Space

Preethi Athreya questions the aesthetic overlay and positivity superimposed on the body that is primarily socio-political. &nbsp

Subversive Scholarship: Exploring Fugitive Pedagogy at a Historically Black College and University in Texas. Do We Do it?

Pre-service teacher curriculum represents the complex interplay between governance and teacher education. Current mandates for teacher certification include stricter certification and licensing provisions. Prioritizing cultural relevance and Black empowerment, HBCUs have a history of resisting oppressive societal attitudes and systems. Likewise, their teacher preparation courses offer Black preservice teachers the opportunity to practice their legacy of fugitive pedagogy openly and systematically. Nevertheless, they are required to confront their past accomplishments while adhering to state-sanctioned regulations on imparting educators with “official teacher knowledge” for certification. Using a conceptual framework that integrates official knowledge and fugitive pedagogy through the lens of governmentality, this chapter conducted a content analysis between the one course within a teacher preparation program at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Texas against standards of official knowledge provided by Texas Education Agency (TEA). The results suggest that HBCUs maintains their distinctive educational mission despite state control and regulation, albeit not fully. Accordingly, recommendations for further study and practice are provided

Teachers’ Grouping Strategies: Implications for Equity

In this article, we invite readers to reflect on their strategies for equitably organizing students for small-group work. We do so by sharing the results of an interview-based study of the ways in which a group of secondary mathematics teachers, working in an urban school district in which racial equity was an explicit focus, described equitable approaches to arranging students for small-group work. We share the grouping strategies that teachers described, and consider implications of those strategies for different dimensions of equity in the classroom

Editorial

This is the editorial review by Dr. Arshiya Sethi on the state of the field of South Asian Dance Intersections as experienced through the microscopic and macroscopic narratives curated in the issue

Joni Schwartz-Chaney: Editor\u27s Notes

This is the final issue of DSJ under the senior editorship of Dr. Joni Schwartz-Chaney. In this Editor\u27s Notes, Schwartz-Chaney reflects on the past ten years of the journal and its future

Translanguaging to Persevere: Supporting and Recognizing the Meaning-Making Process for Latinx Bilingual Students of Mathematics

This paper describes the translanguaging and perseverance practices of Latinx bilingual students and the careful preparation of their English-speaking, monolingual teacher to establish a supportive classroom environment. Drawing on the constructs of translanguaging mathematical practice and perseverance in problem-solving, we share our observations of a group of four Latinx bilingual students as they leverage their bilingualism to productively struggle to make sense of an exponential function. We discuss this vignette to reveal the pedagogical decisions that helped support these students to dialogically leverage their communicative resources to help persevere with in-the-moment mathematical obstacles. Such decisions included selecting and enacting a challenging mathematical task conducive for perseverance, encouraging a linguistically sensitive learning environment, and providing access to mathematical tools as learning resources.&nbsp