Affiliation:
1. Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, USA
2. CAST, USA
Abstract
Increasing scholarship and PK-12 practice has included universal design for learning (UDL) as a framework for both the mindset and implementation of inclusive and equitable practice. Preparing new teachers in this way requires teacher educators to ‘practice what they teach' in their own practice of UDL. Building on the authors' prior self-study work, which analyzed applications of UDL in conjunction with DisCrit (disability studies and critical race theory), this chapter describes how these frameworks inform both how and what we teach, and the systemic barriers to equity that our pedagogy has exposed within these contexts. The authors unpack each of these barriers in detail, and offer solutions for combating these barriers, which we believe can empower teacher educators to begin to chip away at deeply oppressive institutional structures, attitudes, and practices, and transform the work of preparing new teachers.