Getting “Up to Code”: Preparing for and Confronting Challenges when Teaching for Social Justice in Standards-Based Classrooms

Teaching for social justice is an increasingly popular emphasis among P–12 teachers and teacher educators alike. However, research suggests teachers, and especially beginning teachers, struggle to enact their social justice visions when faced with the myriad of mandates characteristic of today's classrooms. In this article the author examines how 24 secondary English Language Arts teachers successfully balance the demands of teaching for social justice and standards-based practice. Although all participants were able to teach for social justice in their current school contexts, two thirds of participants reported challenges when doing so; these included restrictive school policies, a lack of support from colleagues, resistance from students, and insufficient personal or professional resources. In this article, the author analyzes these challenges, highlights participants' strategies for overcoming them, and makes recommendations for enhancing preservice candidates' readiness to teach for social justice.