“A Very Difficult Decision”

Teacher Educator Parents, their Children’s Schooling, and the Misalignment of Values and Choices

Authors

  • Kerry Kretchmar Carroll University
  • Alyssa Hadley Dunn Michigan State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14288/ce.v13i3.186605

Keywords:

School Choice, Parents, Neoliberalism, Teacher Educator Parents

Abstract

In this paper, we explore how teacher educator parents’ (TEPs) feelings about their choices for their children’s schooling and how these choices align or don’t with their professional values. We provide a nuanced look at the emotional elements of “school choice” and the delicate intersections of teacher educators’ personal and professional identities amid a neoliberal educational system that is grounded in choice. This paper illuminates TEPs’ cognitive dissonance and struggle through conflicted and emotional choices as they strive to live in ways that reflect their ideals, while parenting within a racist and stratified school system.

Author Biographies

Kerry Kretchmar, Carroll University

Kerry Kretchmar is Associate Professor of Education at Carroll University where she teaches courses in the early childhood minor, the equity and inclusion block, and Educational Studies. Her research interests include examining the way market-based reforms are impacting teachers, teaching, and teacher education, with a focus on issues of equity and social justice.

Alyssa Hadley Dunn, Michigan State University

Alyssa Hadley Dunn is Associate Professor in the College of Education at Michigan State University, her research centers on urban teacher education and support and the sociocultural and political contexts of urban schools, with a focus on issues of race, justice, and equity.

Critical Education Volume 13 Number 3 2022

Downloads

Published

2022-07-15

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 3 (2022)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2022 Kerry Kretchmar, Alyssa Hadley Dunn

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with Critical Education agree to the following terms:

  • Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).