Meeting the Moment: Social Studies Teacher Education for a New Era
Political, social, and technological changes are making the work of preparing students for democratic participation more challenging than ever. For social studies educators, meeting the moment requires more than small tweaks to curriculum and instruction. Now is the time for a system-wide rethinking of social studies that places teacher education at its core. Dr. Jay’s research analyzes pedagogies of teacher education to highlight instructional opportunities and understand the development of teacher identity. This research makes the case for reencountering teacher education with greater granularity, methodological sophistication, and an eye toward transformative educational goals.
Lightning Jay is an assistant professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education at Binghamton University, SUNY. He completed his doctoral work at the University of Pennsylvania, where his research was recognized with the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education's 2023 distinguished dissertation award. Lightning now studies teacher education, social studies, and the work of developing ambitious student-centered pedagogies.
