LAUSR

We write this editorial at a time when the political polarization in the United States and elsewhere leaves very little room for having complex and reasoned discussions that help establish trust in a diverse democracy. This is most recently evidenced by opposing views on gun control. As Hess and McAvoy (2015) state, “polarization causes distrust, and distrust causes polarization” (p. 8, citing research by McCarty, Poole, & Rosenthal, 2006). Moreover, the current polarization creates a culture where coming to a compromise that all can accept is seen as a loss for both sides, rather than as a victory for all. Reactions to recent episodes of school violence are, sadly, reflections of this growing polarization. This editorial is a continuation of conversations related to critical democracy and educational justice that have been expressed in several of our editorials (e.g., Carter Andrews, Richmond, & Floden, 2018; Richmond, Floden, Bartell, & Petchauer, 2017). These topics have continued salience given the recent school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and have led us to recognize the need to address critical democracy and educational justice in a more substantive way in the pages of the journal. We acknowledge that, unfortunately, school shootings are not a new phenomenon; yet, the Parkland tragedy has garnered national attention in ways that are elevating not only conversations about gun control and school safety but also other divisive issues such as free speech, environmental policy, and school choice. For these conversations to be productive and lead to democratic decisions, students must learn how to deliberate, work to understand others’ viewpoints, evaluate arguments and evidence in support of each point of view, and engage with others to reach decisions. We believe that teacher preparation programs have a moral obligation to ensure that future teachers understand how to cultivate school and classroom culture and climate that emanate humanity, dignity, and respect for all, and to ensure that teachers can support students’ ability to engage in discussions with those who hold opposing views. In this editorial, we outline three gap areas that currently exist in many teacher preparation programs. These areas are framed by three overarching questions that teacher educators and K-12 educators are asking in these challenging times: (a) How can we ensure student safety in learning environments? (b) How do we help preservice teachers (PSTs) and K-12 students develop foundational skills for critically discussing and analyzing controversial and sensitive topics? (c) How do teacher educators and teachers support students in justice movements and advocacy work that reflect the social justice mindsets and dispositions they aim to enact? We acknowledge that these questions are not easily addressed by program changes or curriculum reform. Collective structural change is required to achieve the type of transformative educational justice to which we aspire. Currently many teacher education programs are not designed with a curricular focus on issues of school safety, youth advocacy and resistance, trauma response, and cultivating teachers’ skills for facilitating conversations related to controversial and/or sensitive topics. Furthermore, many teacher educators are ill-equipped to facilitate dialogues in their classrooms on such topics, which can have implications for maintaining affirming, inclusive, and safe classrooms. Below we describe each of the gap areas facing teacher education programs and offer ways forward for teacher educators and practicing teachers as we collectively work to effectively educate all students in the current national and global sociopolitical climate.