No abstract

In the United States, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, schools and testing centers were forced to close on-site locations. With teacher candidates no longer able to complete clinical teaching or take certification exams in person, states created new recommendations for facilitating a pathway to teacher certification. Specifically, 19 states provided guidelines that allowed educator preparation programs (EPPs) flexibility in how teacher candidates completed existing certification requirements. By analyzing summaries of these states' guidelines, themes of time, technology, flexibility/nonflexibility, and EPPs emerged. Using a comprehensive lens, this brief examines the role and implications of each of these themes in teacher certification during these unprecedented times.

Drawing on critical race media theory, this praxis article describes how instructors can effectively introduce critical race literacy theory in a teacher education class using online videos. Ultimately, this study helps us to better understand how viewing YouTube videos and responding critically to YouTube user comments can help preservice teachers acknowledge and challenge their pre-existing beliefs related to teachers and students of color in a teacher education writing course. Data analysis reveals that preservice teachers’ idealism for compassionate teaching is embedded in a superficial understanding of sociocultural differences and lacks an understanding of how race affects student learning.