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Conference Circuit: Teacher Educators Promote Social Justice

The Association of Teacher Educators encourages its members to spur big changes. Plus: A renowned advocate sets the tone for discussing the state of mental health in schools.

The Association of Teacher Educators’ 2015 Annual Meeting in Phoenix, February 13-17, will demonstrate how teaching goes far beyond classrooms and textbooks. The conference theme, “Advocating for the Silenced: The Educators’ Vocation,” will focus on important topics for those who lend their guidance and support to teachers: equality, education policy, and social justice.

These issues will be woven into sessions. Dr. Kristin L. Gunckel, assistant professor in the teaching, learning, and sociocultural studies department at the University of Arizona, for example, will lead a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQQ ) panel. And Dr. Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy, president’s professor of indigenous education and justice at the School of Social Transformation and director of the Center for Indian Education at Arizona State University, will discuss reaching, recruiting, and retaining quality teachers.

A town hall meeting, “Creating Catalysts for Change,” will aim to sum up the meeting’s mission with a focus on how “educators, schools, and institutions of higher education must step up and become empowered as agents of change, not as recipients of mandates for change that come from outside of the education community.”

The Week Ahead

February 17-20: Patrick J. Kennedy, mental health advocate and former U.S. representative, will serve as the keynote speaker for the National Association of School Psychologists’ 2015 Annual Convention in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. His dedication to the cause makes him a perfect figure to highlight the conference’s focus on mental health education and policy in schools.

February 18-21: The 41st Academy Annual Meeting and Scientific Symposium of the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists in New Orleans could attract more members to the organization. The event will feature forums designed to educate members and nonmembers about what scientific societies have to offer and encourage students and women to learn more about the field.

Down the Line

February 26-28: Attendees of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology’s 16th Annual Meeting in Long Beach, California, will explore the interdisciplinary implications of their field, with discussions on topics such as “The Ethics of Giving Psychology Away: Scientists’ Contributions to the Marketplace of Ideas” and “Psychological Science and Policy: Insight From a Year on Capitol Hill.”

Julia Haskins

By Julia Haskins

Julia Haskins is a contributor to Associations Now. MORE

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