Leadership Q&A: Justice and Equity in Education in a Post-Pandemic World

Elizabeth Birr Moje is Dean, George Herbert Mead Collegiate Professor of Education, and an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in the School of Education. A former high school history and biology teacher, Moje’s research examines young people’s navigations of culture, identity, and literacy learning in and out of school in Detroit, Michigan.

Moje is the author of multiple books and journal articles, and in 2010 was awarded the Provost’s Teaching Innovation Prize, with colleague Bob Bain, for their work to improve teacher education. Building on more than 20 years of working with Detroit teachers and students, Moje serves as founder and leader of University of Michigan School of Education’s role in the Detroit P-20 Partnership, a collective impact strategy aimed at supporting community-engaged development through enhanced education opportunity for children and families in Detroit communities.

In reflecting on the past two years, what are some of the biggest impacts that the pandemic has had on education?

The pandemic has exacerbated challenges that have always existed in education. With the pandemic we saw increased disparity in access and opportunity, which has deepened existing systemic and institutional inequities related to race, socio-economic status, ethnicity, disability, and gender. A long-building teacher shortage has now reached crisis levels, particularly in our most under-resourced school districts. Prior to the pandemic, teachers were struggling to support students and families who were experiencing trauma, and the trauma brought about by the pandemic has only intensified the problems they face. Finally, a unique challenge has been how to wisely invest in education technologies, assuring we are using evidence-based tools applied purposefully by well-prepared instructors.

If we want to look for a silver lining, then one potential positive impact of the pandemic is that disparities were surfaced and cannot be ignored.  Leaders, policymakers, and community members more fully recognize schooling’s central role in addressing all societal issues. Our health, technologies, government, justice, economy, and planet all rely on a foundation of meaningful learning. Strong educational systems are essential to a healthy and innovative future.

What role do higher education institutions play in learning about the challenges in educating and learning, and identifying possible solutions? How does this apply to other institutions?

Higher education institutions must invest in the study of education and particularly in the learning sciences if we are to advance the mission of access to educational excellence for all. We know that learning is central to each of our disciplines, yet a misconception persists that education research only informs K-12 education. Meaningful interdisciplinary scholarly and practical collaborations will play a critical role in addressing education’s greatest challenges. For example, the Community-Based Research on Equity, Activism, and Transformative Education (CREATE) Center, led by Dr. Camille Wilson, unites U-M and other university-based researchers with community advocates to advance equitable and anti-racist educational practice, policy, and inquiry.

In addition to building connections within the University of Michigan, we must also build expansive networks in which to learn from and with others locally, nationally, and globally. Our work is enhanced exponentially when we engage individuals and communities with diverse contributions and experiences. The P-20 Partnership with Detroit is one way the School of Education and the University of Michigan are already making progress toward this goal.

What are some ways that School of Education researchers and faculty helped address education impacts not just at U-M, but in K-12 schools across Michigan?

The single most important factor in a high-quality education is access to a well-prepared teacher. Thus we have focused a great deal of energy in addressing the critical teaching shortage our society is facing. We are advancing groundbreaking new models to prepare and support future and current educators and forging new pathways into the profession.

  • The Michigan Education Teaching School fosters a professional community of pre-service, early career, and expert teachers who work and learn with U-M and SOE experts in a supportive, innovative, and empowering school environment;
  • The Michigan Alternate Route to Certification combines flexibility for career changers and experienced educators with the SOE’s leading practice-based approaches;
  • The EdHub for Community and Professional Learning is a new center for online learning that enables U-M SOE experts to develop learning opportunities around timely, critical topics and to make them widely accessible to educators and community members; and
  • TeachingWorks designs resources and supports educators to enact equitable teaching practice that nurtures young people’s learning and actively disrupts patterns of injustice.

SOE faculty and students also applied their expertise to develop innovative solutions to challenges that arose from remote learning. Our Educator Preparation Program faculty and staff were faced with the need to develop high-quality experiential learning opportunities for pre-service teachers to assure those entering the profession were well prepared. Another example is the educational sanctuary that SOE Master’s student Paula Manrique Gomez Pfeffer created for undocumented youth during COVID-19.

How has the School of Education worked to examine the impacts of learning, teaching, and leading throughout the challenges of the pandemic?

Much of this work is now integrated into our research in some way or another. However, I wish to highlight the work of several SOE faculty members who responded rapidly to pursue critical research to advance our collective understanding of the impacts of the pandemic and how to mitigate them.

Why is U-M positioned to be a leader in this area and how will the SOE continue to enhance society through its research and scholarship?

We have reached the critical moment of uniting our long tradition of scholarly preeminence (more than 205 years for the university and 101 years for the SOE) with our commitment to excellence in public scholarship and in efforts to advance diversity, inclusion, justice, and equity. This fusion is resulting in incredible innovation in our education research and scholarship because we engage and learn with and from those who have been historically and systemically disenfranchised. We are now poised to partner with multiple communities to lead bold, transformative change that disrupts taken-for-granted practices and reshapes robust education for the future.