CEE Position Statement
Revised November 2017

The field of English language arts teacher education is made up of three dimensions, each firmly grounded in a commitment to issues of justice, equity, and diversity: (1) the teaching and learning of English language arts (ELA), broadly and inclusively defined; (2) the preparation and professional support of English language arts (ELA) teachers at all levels of education; and (3) the systematic and interdisciplinary inquiry into both the preparation and support of ELA teachers and the teaching and learning of ELA. We in the field of ELA teacher education understand that ELA teaching is a complicated endeavor, encapsulated by the understanding of, facility with, and passion for content, curriculum, instruction, and students. Moreover, we understand that issues of justice, equity, and diversity are complex and fraught concepts affected by their structural, political, and representational intersectionality that are further complicated by multiple layers of systemic oppression. We also recognize that issues of justice, equity, and diversity are central to the teaching and learning of ELA, shaping approaches to curriculum creation and assessment, literacy and language practices, the professional lives and identities of ELA teachers, and research about ELA teaching and learning. At the heart of ELA education is teacher education, i.e., the preparation and support of ELA teachers who embody the qualities we seek to develop in all learners: creative, literate, agentive, compassionate individuals; contributors to the cultural, social, and economic health of their communities; critically aware, participatory citizens in a complex, diverse, and increasingly globalized world.

What follows is a brief explication of the three dimensions of English language arts teacher education with a listing of essential core values.

Dimension 1: The field of English language arts teacher education is the teaching and learning of English language arts, broadly and inclusively defined.

English language arts teacher educators recognize that the study of ELA should develop in students, at any age, interest in, and facility with the literacy and language skills necessary to comprehend, create, respond to, and engage with diverse texts while fostering an understanding of self and others that supports engaging with and effecting change in the world around them. ELA teacher educators understand that the teaching and learning of ELA is a contested subject that must embrace a wide variety of literacy practices, inclusive approaches to language use, intellectual and cultural diversity, and diverse ideological perspectives addressing issues of justice, equity, and diversity. As such, ELA teacher educators create, promote, and facilitate understandings of the teaching and learning of ELA that are grounded in reliable research and emphasize literacy as meaning-making that fosters language competence in a variety of authentic texts, genres, contexts, and situations continuously mediated by a plurality of social, cultural, and ideological factors.

Core Values:
As English language arts teacher educators, we

• identify and address students’ ELA learning through the appropriate creation, selection, and use of instructional methods, curriculum, materials, assignments, assessments, and technologies;
• promote and facilitate the effective teaching of ELA content and skills, which include the reading, comprehension, analysis, viewing, and authoring of various types and genres of texts by and about individuals representing diverse groups in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, culture, class, sexuality, and historical period;
• develop, support, and enact classroom curricula and pedagogies that encourage all students to read, respond to, and compose texts that express messages central to their home cultures and in their home languages;
• recognize the creative and critical literacy abilities of all students in order to foster within them a sense of agency and critical engagement with issues of justice, equity, and diversity in the world;
• model and strive to foster the mastery of personal, civic, communal, and cultural literacies for all students;
• develop understanding of the intellectual, historical, and political traditions, debates, and critiques that inform the fields of ELA and education; and
• seek to establish, develop, and support these same core values in pre- and inservice ELA teachers.

Dimension 2: The field of English language arts teacher education is the preparation and professional support of teachers of English language arts at all levels of education.

English language arts teacher educators develop and support ELA teachers at all levels of education who inquire into, critically assess, reflect on, and adjust their own teaching practice as well as curricula, standards, assessments, and current practices in the field. ELA teacher educators instruct and mentor pre- and inservice teachers as they develop curricular, pedagogical, and content area expertise and establish their professional identities. As reflective practitioners ourselves, ELA teacher educators exemplify and utilize teaching practices that promote issues of justice, equity, and diversity in the classroom and entail the active use of language to construct, examine, and communicate knowledge in a world of diverse, and often contested, ideas and values.

Core Values:
As English language arts teacher educators, we

• teach in ways that are grounded in and extended from understandings of research and theory, practice in the field, and intellectual traditions and debates in the field of ELA teacher education;
• teach and research in ways that address issues of justice, equity, and diversity and value the ethnic, racial, linguistic, gender, sexual, class, and cultural identities and needs of all students;
• model and promote meaningful engagement with our work and ongoing professional self­renewal and development through a variety of means;
• serve as leaders in and advocates for the field in order to address educational issues, heighten political awareness, and contribute to educational policy at the local, state, and national levels;
• foster understanding of the tensions and contradictions inherent in curriculum and content as well as in the complex and sometimes competing institutional, cultural, political, and ideological contexts of teaching and learning;
• create connections and serve as liaisons between higher education and the K–12 schools through teaching, learning, and research activities; and
• seek to establish, develop, and support these same core values in pre- and inservice ELA teachers.

Dimension 3: The field of English language arts teacher education is the knowledge gained from systematic inquiry into the teaching and learning of English language arts.

English language arts teacher education, as a unique field of study, is grounded in educational theory and research concerned with the teaching and learning of ELA, particularly as it translates to questions about who, what, when, why, and how in educational settings from preschools to universities. ELA teacher educators engage in various forms of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed­methods research in order to answer questions, create theories, and enact practices instrumental in understanding, critiquing, and improving the teaching and learning of ELA and ELA teacher education while interrogating and supporting issues of justice, equity, and diversity.

Core Values:
As English language arts teacher educators, we

• create, build upon, and provide access to knowledge about ELA teaching and learning and the issues of justice, equity, and diversity inherent in ELA teaching and learning;
• know, contribute to, and expand upon generative intellectual, moral, and aesthetic theories of literacy and language teaching, learning, and development;
• value, foster, and engage in collaborative and classroom-based inquiry involving ELA educators in all educational settings;
• engage in reflective practice and support its use by ELA educators in all educational settings;
• conduct, publish, and disseminate research about the teaching and learning of ELA in various venues to diverse audiences;
• prepare and mentor all those in the fields of ELA and ELA teacher education; and
• seek to establish, develop, and support these same core values in pre- and inservice ELA teachers.

This document was revised by a CEE working committee comprised of the following:
Melanie Shoffner, Chair – James Madison University
Janet Alsup – Purdue University
Antero Garcia – Stanford University
Marcelle Haddix – Syracuse University
Michael Moore – Georgia Southern University
Ernest Morrell – University of Notre Dame
David Schaafsma – University of Illinois at Chicago
Leah Zuidema – Dordt College

This position statement may be printed, copied, and disseminated without permission from NCTE.