Disrupting to Sustain: Teacher Preparation Through Innovative Teaching and Learning Practices

The main purpose of this paper is to respond to the call to re-envision higher education and to share experiences of hope that provide concrete examples about possibilities of enacting liberatory education in higher education. This article focuses on the work of one junior faculty member and four doctoral students who participate in a critical inquiry group and research collective called the “Critical Education Research Collective,” (CERC). As social justice educators, in this shared space we engage in meaningful teaching and inquiry practices that involve teaching and research methodologies, education theory, dialogue, reflection and praxis. While research has highlighted the ways in which inquiry groups can be used as an intentional and systematic examination into teaching practice, this essay describes the structure, functioning, theoretical standpoints and the process of becoming a doctoral student and professor-led critical inquiry group. The group came together as a way to sustain the work and research development of both the doctoral students and the junior faculty in the collective.