Since 2020, the world has been experiencing a perma-crisis marked by a global pandemic, wars in Europe and the Middle East, and climate change (Suliman, 2022). One consequence is increased global migration as people seek safety and opportunities for a better future for themselves and their children. As a result, many nations are experiencing diversification of their populace and grappling with increasing social complexities, that are in turn contributing to inequities (Vertovec, 2023). In this context, the challenge of creating and sustaining a teacher workforce across the globe that is culturally responsive and reflects the racial and ethnic diversity of the populace is critical for achieving educational equity.

In the United States, a country of great diversity, there are significant disproportionalities in academic and social outcomes for non-White students, non-native English speakers and students impacted by poverty. Research conducted in the United States shows all students benefit from having a diverse group of teachers who enact culturally responsive pedagogies and practices as they prepare for a global society (Aronson & Laughter, 2016; Cherng & Halpin, 2016) and students who learn in classrooms led by teachers from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds are more likely to develop positive identities, develop cultural competencies to combat stereotypes, reduce unconscious biases, and develop greater social cohesion (Blazar, 2021; Wells, Fox, and Cordova-Cobo, 2016).

This symposium features four presenters who will describe the research- and evidence base that supports the need for culturally responsive and diverse teachers to achieve educational equity and the implications for teacher preparation and professional learning. Additionally, in this symposium participants will learn about the design of a teacher preparation program aimed at recruiting and preparing Black teachers to teach STEM education in secondary schools in the US and resources for supporting teacher professional learning for culturally responsive teaching.

This work presents the "MDH News" project, developed as part of the Institutional Teacher Initiation Scholarship Program (Pibid) in Fortaleza, Brazil, during the second semester of 2023. Pibid enables student teachers to gain early experience in public schools by developing after-school projects, supervised by school teachers, as a hands-on immersion before they encounter teaching practices at university.

This project, MDH News, was a school newspaper written by students in English, covering topics such as art, cinema, sports, school life, and issues relevant to their community. It was integrated into the English classes at Maria da Hora, a full-time public middle school in one of the lowest HDI (Human Development Index) neighborhoods of Fortaleza. The students (aged between 11 and 15 years old) had creative freedom to choose their topics and worked in teams in the school's computer lab.

The project was grounded in Brazil's Common Core Curriculum. Research on teaching across age levels, learning English as a second language, the use of technology as a pedagogical tool, and multimodal strategies to engage students informed this work. I collected data from the Instagram profiles of the Pibid group and MDH News, Google Forms used for student sign-ups, and feedback from students and school staff.

Analysis is ongoing but this project highlights the importance of giving underprivileged students a platform to express their voices, interests, and the challenges they face both at school and within their communities. I will share the students’ major themes and the particular challenges and successes of the project from our perspective as student teachers.

In France, recent years have seen a national-level acceleration towards embracing inclusive schooling, evident in a series of law and policy reforms since 2019. In particular, the new requirement since 2021 that initial teacher education programmes offer 25 hours of training on school inclusion for all new teachers. While teachers are in theory being better prepared for inclusive practices, France’s egalitarian constitutional model remains in ideological conflict with differentiated treatment of diversity. In this context, is teacher education able to effectively prepare teachers for their work with pupils with diverse learning and special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools? What kinds of tensions and conflicts may arise? How are these being addressed within the formal teacher education pathways (by “insiders”) as well as through informal interventions by SEN education specialists (“outsiders”)?

This symposium will respond to these questions, drawing on works from the inclusive education literature (Ebersold, 2017; Kohout-Diaz & Strouhal, 2021; Malet, 2023), and literature exploring equity from a French perspective (Le Maire, 2009; Joly, 2016; Brun, 2018). We will explore how teacher education (insider and outsider) in the Bordeaux region is evolving in response to the challenges and opportunities of the new inclusion training requirements, with examples of findings from our recent studies: teenage migrants and home languages in learning (Smythe, in press), SEN and mainstream teacher approaches to inclusion (Smythe & Malet, in press), and inclusive university practices (Kohout-Diaz, 2024).

Finally, and in response to the ISATT conference theme, this symposium proposes to overview equity and inclusion in teacher education in France, bringing examples of formal and informal initiatives in Bordeaux that aim to better support teachers working in diverse classrooms.

This symposium aims to discuss the transformative potential of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) in the context of heightened internationalisation in Higher Education. we will explore how COIL could address the increasing demand for educators capable of thriving in cross-cultural settings (Esche, 2018) and for students to have positive learning experiences in an international setting. Through case studies (Rodolico et al., 2022a and 2022b), we will reflect on how the careful selection of experiential learning tools and digital platforms such as social media could impact on the collaborative learning aspect of COIL, (Chan et al., 2020; Khan et al., 2021). In addition, considering COIL as an effective alternative to internationalisation abroad, language dynamics within COIL warrant scrutiny. We will analyse the challenges including racio-linguism, influencing language, race, and culture interactions that English as lingua franca could generate (Alim, Rickford & Ball, 2016). Finally, we will explore COIL's role in promoting a sense of belonging and interconnectedness among culturally diverse students, emphasizing digital empathy and connectedness (Hagerty & Williams, 2020; Naicker et al., 2021) as well as students’ self efficacy. We will reflect on the impact that a potential COIL model, based on the SUNY COIL Centre model (n.d) and on mutual enrichment, active participation, cooperative teaching, and topics of common interest (Rodolico et al., 2022a), had on the positive learning experience of Higher Education (HE) students. We will also consider how students might develop intercultural competencies in an alternative way, recognising that while study abroad programs have proven effective in cultivating these competencies, they are often hampered by resource constraints (de Castro, 2019; Purvis, Rodger & Beckingham, 2020).

This symposium will discuss the development of language teachers’ plurilingual identities and competences in the context of equity, democracy and social justice. It will explore teaching practices in four distinctive environments of primary school teachers in Scotland, lower secondary and higher education teachers in Iceland, and teacher trainees in Spain. We will discuss the reasons for including plurilingual competences into all educational settings and analyse ways in which these competences can be developed in classrooms to strengthen equitable, socially just teaching practices. We will consider how teachers reflect, respond, and make meaning of their own and their learners’ plurilingual identities and competencies, how they navigate them in formal school settings and how they can use them for learning and teaching. Futro will discuss how visual art was used by teachers in Scotland for developing plurilingual practices in teaching Polish in primary schools, Nishida and Emilsson Peskova will explore their plurilingual identities as teacher educators at the University of Iceland through senryu poetry, Emilsson Peskova will present on how certified immigrant teachers utilize their plurilingual repertoires in their teaching at lower secondary level, and Sugranyes Ernest will discuss the concept of plurilingual wellbeing by analysing how the teacher trainees’ relationship with their own languages affects the ways they teach those languages.

Embracing and developing plurilingual identities and competencies of learners and teachers in school settings aligns with the principles of equity and social justice. All discussed projects view the theoretical framework of plurilingualism as embedded in the theory of social justice and use qualitative research methods, including self-study, semi-structured interviews, and arts-based inquiry. Presented findings point to how equity in the classroom requires plurilingual approaches, such as regarding learning and teaching strategies through a plurilingual lens, translanguaging, and strengthening plurilingual competencies, identities and wellbeing of learners and teachers.

At the core of establishing a European Education Area by 2025, lies the need to improve social cohesion and “experience European identity in all its diversity” (European Commission, 2017). To this end, “giving more support to teachers” became a central objective of the European Education Area, including that “Member States take action to support the teacher education profession” (European Commission, 2013) in recognition of their central role in every stage of the teacher’s career. European policy documents reflect growing awareness of teachers’ and teacher education’s crucial role in developing more equitable education systems. In this context, we work on a large-scale EU-funded project, mapping policies and practices regarding equity and diversity in teacher education programmes in eight European countries, with the aim of addressing the professional development needs of teacher educators across across EU countries to enable teachers to attain the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes essential to addressing the equity and diversity issues they face. This session reports on policies and practices in four of these countries: Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

The three contributions are connected by a cohesive methodological framework, including document analysis on national and institutional levels, and focusgroup interviews with programme leaders in teacher education, teacher educators, and student teachers. This lead to a multilevel and crossnational understanding across two key areas: (1) initial teacher education for teaching pre-service teachers to teach for equity and diversity; and (2) practices for upskilling teacher educators’ equity and diversity competencies.

We target three objectives:

• deliver a rich account of provision for pre-service teachers and teacher educators in the participating countries, focussing on the national and institutional levels;
• identify strengths and gaps in existing provision on the different levels in each country;
• define key priorities for the professional development of teacher educators on the European level.

Research Aim

This presentation will outline the findings of a recent dual case study (Larkin, 2024). This study suggests that cultural, policy and physical spaces continue to reflect the religious, cultural and educational interests of the majority ‘white, Irish’ student population; a situation that marginalises this vulnerable group.

Theoretical Framework and Methods

Qualitative data based on documentary analysis, a semi-structured walkthrough, photo elicitation and semi-structured interviews was interpreted using Gramscian and Bourdieusian conceptual frameworks to explore how students for whom EAL were construed and included and/or marginalised. Choosing two contrasting socio-economic school settings allowed a comparative exploitation that brought into greater relief how these students’ cultural identities were constructed in each setting and how policy and practice developed in each.

Findings

Findings suggest that the origin and circumstances of immigration and social class seemed to be a significant factor in how these learners were construed by their teachers. Moreover, school and teacher autonomy played a significant role in responses and innovations designed to respond to post-primary learners for whom EAL. Educators who may be in similar contexts may find relatable features from this study to their own settings. From a methodological perspective, researchers may find some of the theoretical underpinnings and data collection methods utilised beneficial to future research projects. Research pertaining to students for whom EAL is an under-explored educational space.

Relevance to the Conference Theme

In addition to challenging current discourses from a neo-liberal perspective, this paper aligns with the ISATT’s conference strand “Reconciling tensions for a new social contract in education” by looking at innovative ways of exploring the ever changing topography of Irish schools. This study innovates by incorporating visual methods within a qualitative approach to critically investigate how students learning EAL are construed and included within under-explored policy, cultural and physical spaces in secondary schools.

Student-generated questioning has great potential to offer inclusive and equitable teaching practices, such as offering opportunities to align student learning to individual prior knowledge, developing students’ self-regulating and metacognitive skills and fostering critical thinking (e.g. Eschach et al., 2014). However, student-generated questioning is rarely used by teachers, because initial student questions are often unfocused, poorly investigable, and therefore difficult to answer (Baranova, 2017). Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine if and how a conceptual tool could support teachers' professional learning to guide the quality of student-generated questions.

We developed a conceptual tool, named the Question Compass, inspired by the Hypothetical Learning Trajectories of Simon and Tzur (2004) to help teachers think about, anticipate upon and find effective ways to foster the quality of student questioning for hands-on research. To explore if and how Question Compass contributed to the guidance of student question quality, we followed the professional learning of 32 primary school teachers who participated in four design teams, which worked independently in four iterative cycles of design, implementation, evaluation and reflection and redesign over a period of two school years. A multiple case study methodology was applied because this is particularly instrumental for evaluating phenomena in real-life contexts (Yazan, 2015).

Data from the teachers’ design and evaluation sessions was analyzed using the Interconnected Model of Teachers’ Professional Growth (IMTPG) of Clarke and Hollingsworth (2002). Findings show that working with Question Compass contributed to teachers’ professional learning by reducing complexity, fostering creativity, supporting the development of practical tools and their alignment to classroom needs, and offering a framework for development of shared meaning.

Enabling teachers to support student-generated questioning is expected to contribute to more inclusive and equitable teaching practices, as it will provide both opportunities for students’ voice and practice of lifelong learning skills.

The aim of this project is to investigate how we can increase awareness, exploration, and identification of actionable possibilities for transformative educational futures globally. A thriving future for education is predicated on a healthy educator workforce. The work of teaching is challenging and frequently isolating and inflexible. This is exacerbated by the default model of school – the one-teacher, one-classroom model – which asks teachers to possess universal competence from day one. Teachers are leaving for a variety of reasons; including stress, limited resources, and unfavorable conditions. Yet, even given these difficulties, there are bright spots. There are community members, educators, and researchers committed to students and willing to explore innovative possibilities. As Pendola et al. (2023) note, working through the complexities of challenges in the workforce is not only about addressing limitations, but leveraging the dedication of educators. In this presentation, we will highlight a new structure designed to elevate bright spots while growing a robust network of motivated educational actors, Possible Education Futures Labs (PEFL). PEFLs focus on transforming education for a better world through leveraging technology to connect people. PEFLs support participants in moving past tinkering with existing problems and toward becoming aware of, exploring and actively engaged with new possibilities. PEFLs are semi-structured, applied possibility thinking spaces that are collaborative, iterative, and sustainable. Cycle one launched in May 2024. Members of the network collectively choose to focus on; empowering alternatively certified teachers, AI and special populations, and English as a medium of instruction. This inaugural cycle showed the high level of interest amongst educational actors to work as a collaborative network, as well as the depth of innovative ideas and strategies available to the field. Our research addresses the conference theme "Transforming Education" by highlighting the potential of collaborative networks and possibility thinking spaces to drive educational innovation.

Western democracies invest great resources in disseminating programs concerned with resolving the national conflict in the Middle East. These programs, that are widely used in teacher training education in Israel, have been conceptualized in light of Western neo-liberal secular models that imagen a human being that is willing to differ from his groups' essentialist believes and identity for reaching shared goals and narratives with the "other". This approach was put to a test in a program for peace education that took place in a teacher trainee college in Israel in 2024. An ethnographic study conducted in a mixed Palestinian and Jewish class was supposed to follow the ways the participants’ positions are shaped in light of their national views. But the national was replaced, to a large extent, with references to faith and religion. Why God entered the classroom? Can religion serve as a bridge for inclusion and provide a basis for coexistence?

The findings suggest that the strengthened religious foundations (Judaization and Islamization) of the ethnonational conflict enabled participants to find a shared universal basis - faith. At the same time, differences in faith enabled to build stable-essentialist ethno-national borders that could not be crossed. Under these conditions, both sides were not fearful that they would be required to give up parts of their identity in the process of coexistence. Thus, religion enables to hold conversation between the opposing groups. Even though, this may not be an ambitious prospect promising to create a dramatic change, using religion allowed a discussion about the question of coexistence without being faced with impossible demands regarding one's own identity. Understanding these changes in peace education, and in particular the foundations on which the “religious discourse” organizes itself in relationship with the “liberal discourse”, provides insights to the ongoing fight for inclusion and coexistence.

Micro-teaching in the early 60s revolutionalised teacher education, future teachers were able to practice the art and science of teaching with a small group of ‘real’ students, however over time due to overcrowding of ITE curriculum and regulatory mandates it dropped from practice. Fast forward 60 years technologies provide ITE Micro-teaching 2.0 using Simulation and Mixed Reality Learning Environments (MRLE) where contemporary issues within and out of classrooms can be practiced including teaching, coping with irate parents, social justice issues and inclusive practices. This case study highlights three simulation platforms used in ITE to address a range of ‘difficult scenarios’ facing preservice teachers. Grossmans’ (2009) Pedagogies of practice and Scenario Based Learning (SBL) are used to frame the discussion and offer insight into the opportunities and challenges of simulation and MRLE for ITE. It captures the transformative pedagogical qualities of simulation platforms and calls for increased uptake of emerging technologies to target the everchanging needs of our future teachers.