The critical role of teacher educators in promoting socially just mathematics teaching

Abstract This paper focuses on the enablers and constraints that shape mathematics teacher educators' agency in addressing social justice issues within their practice and how these can be harnessed or overcome. Given the potential impact of teacher educators on the student/practising teachers they work with, and consequently on the agency of classroom teachers in teaching for social justice, this is an important area that warrants further research. We adopted a participatory action research methodology in establishing a team of 15 ‘teacher educators’ (broadly defined) working in universities and other settings across England and Scotland. We drew on a theoretical framework based on critical pedagogy and critical mathematics education. Research team meetings focused on designing and evaluating teaching strategies and professional development workshops, which were tried out with student teachers and practising teachers. Data were collected from group discussions in which teacher educators reflected on constraints and opportunities within their own practice. The findings showed that key constraints faced by teacher educators include the dominant discourses and narratives encountered by teachers of mathematics they work with, often generating conflict between aspirations to adopt critical pedagogies and pressures to align themselves with prescriptive and disempowering pedagogies common in schools. Enablers included the collaborative and supportive nature of the research team, which provided teacher educators with space and time to interrogate their own practice, to raise their critical consciousness and to develop confidence to advocate for, and promote, socially just teaching approaches.