Do you think that a commitment to social justice is something that should be required of a teacher? Do you hold this belief regardless of whatever reasons motivated the teacher to enter the field? Can a person's commitment to social justice be separate and apart from any political motivations they may hold? Is social justice an ideological term?

Recently, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), an organization that provides professional accreditation for schools, colleges, and departments of education, removed social justice as one of the professional dispositions that teacher education programs should develop in their students. Following you will find links about the NCATE's decision, and commentary on both sides of the issue.

• NCATE "Defines Dispositions as Used in Teacher Education"
  ( http://www.ncate.org/public/102407.asp?ch=148 )



• "A Spirited Disposition Debate"
  ( http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/06/06/disposition )



• "Social Justice as a Disposition for Teacher Education Programs: Why is it Such a Problem?"
  ( http://coeweb.fiu.edu/Research_Conference/2007_SUIE_Proceedings_files/Nevin.Landorf.FINAL.pdf )



• "NCATE Drops 'Social Justice' as Accreditation Standard; NAS [National Association of Scholars] is Pleased"
  ( http://www.nas.org/polPressReleases.cfm?Doc_Id=56 )

Finally, as you think about your study of the social foundations of education and the debate over social justice as a teacher disposition, the following website provides some interesting insight. What do you think of the authors' point of view?

• "Shaking Foundations"
  ( http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/21_04/shak214.shtml )