Volume 15, Issue 3 (2020) Entry Points: A New Issue, A New Editorial Board, and a New Call

As 2020 draws to a close, the Northwest Journal of Teacher Education humbly acknowledges a significant year for publication. This year, we published our two annual issues plus a COVID-19 themed issue. We were proudly able to bring forward the work of our colleagues—teacher educators and other education stakeholders from the United States and Canada—through the publication of 24 peer-reviewed manuscripts. Additionally, NWJTE readership is at an all-time high. So far in 2020, there have been over 20,000 downloads of articles published in the NWJTE. And we end the year celebrating a new issue, a new editorial board, and a new call for manuscripts.

New Issue: In our new issue, four articles remind us of all the tensions in our collective work of preparing teachers who serve students, their families, and communities—and also the entry points that exist to open doors and provide access in new ways. We celebrate all four manuscripts for their focus on issues of providing an equitable quality education for all students. In the first article, Social and Emotional Learning: Beyond Components and Outcomes, co-authors Darwich and Slaughter—one a teacher educator and the other a former student and current high school English teacher—detail their self-study experience focusing on social-emotional learning in the classroom, inviting students into new terrain. Our second article is An Exploration of Teacher Preparation Practices with Foundational Knowledge of Literacy by Robertson, Sharp, Raymond, and Piper. This manuscript problematizes the literacy instruction preservice teachers receive and calls for EPPs to examine their pedagogical approaches toward literacy preparation to ensure that children receive the top-quality literacy instruction that provides an entry point for life-long well-being.

Two additional manuscripts address entry points through the inclusion of what is missing in K-12 schools. Specifically, our third manuscript locates us in Idaho and focuses on policy revisions to teacher education standards that address the inequities American Indian youth face within the school system. In Regenerating Teacher Education Programs with Indigenous Knowledge, authors Anthony-Stevens, Jones, and Begay detail the EPPs’ role in preparing teachers to meet the needs of Indigenous youth. In the final manuscript, Is Kinesiology a Bridge for STEM Engagement? Sport Science Labs in High Schools, authors Schultz, Danielson, Catena, Connolly, and Hildenbrand share their research in conducting sport-related kinesiology labs within a local high school as a mechanism to increase student interest in STEM, creating an entry point to a field of study previously unknown to many students.

We hope you enjoy reading these articles!

New Editorial Board: Beyond our new issue, the NWJTE is excited to announce the expansion of our editorial board! Daniel Ness from St. John’s University and Matt Ridenour from the University of St. Scholastica are new members of our expanded editorial board. In addition, Rick Sawyer (University of Washington) is returning—Rick previously served as editor of The Northwest Passage. Francene, Jeremy, and I welcome their energy and expertise to the NWJTE! As part of that new energy, we also have a new call; please see the sidebar Call for Manuscripts for more information.