The Alliance for Community-Engaged Teacher Preparation, housed within Teachers College at Ball State University, is a research hub, innovative teacher preparation space, and national teacher education training site, which provides research, consultation, and training to universities, schools, and communities who seek to develop or refine their programs of teacher preparation. The Alliance is a home for culturally responsive, community-engaged teacher preparation – a place where knowledge is constructed, curated, and communicated.
The Alliance offers customizable experiences for universities, schools, and community partners who seek to better prepare community-engaged teachers who can implement culturally relevant instruction in order to address the achievement gap and improve educational equity for children.
Research & Evaluation
Ball State’s program of community-engaged teacher preparation, the “Schools Within the Context of Community” program, has been the focus of multiple research studies, the outcomes of which are featured in the book “Transforming Teacher Education for Social Justice” (Zygmunt & Clark, 2006). A new book “Community-Engaged Teacher Preparation: Voices and Visions of Hope and Healing” (working title) is in press, and features national and international programs of educator preparation who have worked with the Alliance to further their authentic engagement in the communities in which their institutions of higher education are situated.
Partnership Highlights
Designed specifically for university faculty and their community partners, the Alliance’s Summer Institute is a three-day professional development experience that provides an entrée into community-engaged teacher preparation. During the Institute, participants learn the essential components of a community-engaged teacher preparation model, visit and dialogue with community partners and teacher candidates, and explore ways in which teacher preparation programs can more effectively and authentically prepare candidates for an increasingly diverse society. Integral to the Summer Institute are opportunities to adapt the model to other neighborhoods and communities.
For more information
Eva Zygmunt