One cannot adequately educate a child without engaging in full equitable partnership with families. Special education law clearly prioritizes families as necessary participants in the decision-making process related to the education of students with disabilities. However, the translation of special education law into practice particularly for families coming from minoritized communities remains elusive. Significant shifts are needed in how educator preparation programs prepare beginning educators to appropriately partner with families. One such approach that has the potential to drastically recenter family voices in schools through educator preparation is Family as Faculty (FAF). Family as Faculty is a pedagogical approach that elevates families’ expertise in children’s strengths and needs and positions them as essential partners in training and professional preparation. The current chapter presents the implementation of FAF within one educator preparation program as an example of how families of color can provide essential connections across issues related to disability, race, status, power, equity, and social justice. The chapter includes (a) a description of both authors’ background and positionality, (b) a brief introduction to the Family as Faculty literature base, (c) an overview of the structure of FAF in one professional educator training program, (d) a series of co-constructed scenarios for instructional practice, and (e) a conclusion and final thoughts.

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Leveraging Family Strengths as Strategies to Prepare Future Educators

  • Terese C. Aceves,
  • Debra E. Evans

摘要

One cannot adequately educate a child without engaging in full equitable partnership with families. Special education law clearly prioritizes families as necessary participants in the decision-making process related to the education of students with disabilities. However, the translation of special education law into practice particularly for families coming from minoritized communities remains elusive. Significant shifts are needed in how educator preparation programs prepare beginning educators to appropriately partner with families. One such approach that has the potential to drastically recenter family voices in schools through educator preparation is Family as Faculty (FAF). Family as Faculty is a pedagogical approach that elevates families’ expertise in children’s strengths and needs and positions them as essential partners in training and professional preparation. The current chapter presents the implementation of FAF within one educator preparation program as an example of how families of color can provide essential connections across issues related to disability, race, status, power, equity, and social justice. The chapter includes (a) a description of both authors’ background and positionality, (b) a brief introduction to the Family as Faculty literature base, (c) an overview of the structure of FAF in one professional educator training program, (d) a series of co-constructed scenarios for instructional practice, and (e) a conclusion and final thoughts.