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Awards Committee

Hanadi Shatara was the Emergent Teacher Educator award winner at the Fall 2025 Conference

Awards Committee Committee Chair

Betina Hsieh
University of Washington
Send the chair an email message with your questions.

Purpose

The California Council on Teacher Education offers a number of awards to honor teacher educators at various stages of their career and to honor teacher educators doing work specifically in the areas of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. A list of our current awards and their submission cycles can be found below: 

Current CCTE Awards

(Nominations July 15-August 15; Awarded at the Annual Fall Conference) 

CCTE Outstanding Emerging Teacher Educator Award

The CCTE Outstanding Emerging Teacher Educator Award will be given to a California-based Teacher Educator their first 5 years of teacher education practice. The teacher educator can be part-time/ affiliated faculty, adjunct faculty/ lecturer, clinical faculty, or an early-career tenure track teacher educator in any undergraduate teacher preparation pathway programs (e.g. community college/ liberal studies programs) and/or post-baccalaureate accredited teacher education program in the state. Candidates will be evaluated based on their contributions to their programs and/or the field of teacher education in the areas of teaching, research, and/or service, appropriate to their role. Additional criteria under consideration include: involvement with CCTE, alignment with CCTE’s commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, and contributions that respond to current issues in teacher education. Self-nominations are allowed and encouraged, as are nominations by colleagues. 

CCTE Outstanding Mid-Career Teacher Educator Award

The CCTE Outstanding Mid-Career Teacher Educator Award will be given to a California-based Teacher Educator with 6-15 years of teacher education experience. The teacher educator can be part-time/ affiliated faculty, adjunct faculty/ lecturer, clinical faculty, or a mid-career tenure track teacher educator (advanced assistant/ associate/ or early full professor) in any undergraduate teacher preparation pathway programs (e.g. community college/ liberal studies programs) and/or post-baccalaureate accredited teacher education program in the state. Candidates will be evaluated based on their contributions to their programs and the field of teacher education in the areas of teaching, research, and/or service, appropriate to their role and years of service. Additional criteria under consideration include involvement with CCTE, alignment with CCTE’s commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, and contributions that respond to current issues in teacher education. Self-nominations are allowed and encouraged, as are nominations by colleagues. 

CCTE Outstanding Advanced Teacher Educator (Lifetime Achievement) Award

The CCTE Outstanding Advanced Teacher Educator (Lifetime Achievement) Award will be given to a Teacher Educator with more than 15 years of teacher education experience, with at least some of the teacher education experience being within the state of California. The teacher educator can be part-time/ affiliated faculty, adjunct faculty/ lecturer, clinical faculty, or a mid-career tenure track teacher educator (advanced assistant/ associate/ or early full professor) in any undergraduate teacher preparation pathway programs (e.g. community college/ liberal studies programs) and/or post-baccalaureate accredited teacher education program in the state. Candidates will be evaluated based on their contributions to their programs and the field of teacher education in the areas of teaching, research, and/or service, appropriate to their role and years of service. Additional criteria under consideration include involvement with CCTE, alignment with CCTE’s commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, and significance of contributions to the field of teacher education. Self-nominations are allowed and encouraged, as are nominations by colleagues. 

CCTE JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion) Committee Awards 

CCTE JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion) Committee Awards (Nominations by 12/15; Awards presented at CCTE SPAN with a session featuring awardees at subsequent Fall conference) 

Award for Critical Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities in Teacher Education

This award honors individuals whose innovative and outstanding research, scholarship, or creative activities advance racial justice, social justice, equity, and/or inclusion within the field of teacher education. Recipients of this award demonstrate how knowledge production can transform teacher preparation and professional practice to challenge educational inequities and center historically marginalized voices.

Eligibility: This award is available to faculty, administrators, in-service teachers, and teacher candidates.

The elements of outstanding research, scholarship, and creative activities within the field of teacher education include:

  • Significant contributions that advance knowledge related to racial justice, social justice, equity, and/or inclusion in teacher education.
  • Research and creative activities that examine the intersections of race, class, gender, dis/ability, language, culture and other aspects of identity and how they shape access, opportunity, and outcomes in schools and teacher preparation programs.
  • Transparency in methodology, scope, and dissemination of research to ensure accessibility and impact.
  • Uniqueness in addressing urgent problems, developing novel approaches, or expanding underexplored areas of equity and justice in teacher education.
  • Outcomes and implications that stimulate evidence-based practices, policies, and directions supporting diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racist transformation.Examples include:
  • Research that centers racially just practices, equity, and inclusion within teacher education, such as studies on teacher preparation, licensure, or classroom practice.
  • Collaborative projects between researchers and practitioners that result in sustained, observable change in teacher education programs or partner schools.
  • Participatory action research projects in which teacher candidates, practicing teachers, and communities co-construct knowledge to advance equity in education.
  • Interdisciplinary research that integrates perspectives from fields such as ethnic studies, disability studies, gender studies, sociology, etc., to inform teacher education.
  • Scholarship or creative work (e.g., curriculum design, digital media projects, or community-based publications) that significantly impacts equity and inclusion in teacher preparation and practice.Nominee evaluation rubric is linked HERE

Award for Transformative Community-Grounded Work in Teacher Education

This award recognizes individuals or groups who advance equity and justice in teacher education through meaningful collaboration with community members and/or community-based organizations. It honors co-designed initiatives that connect teacher preparation programs with historically underserved communities, with the goal of developing responsive, sustaining, and justice-oriented educational practices and of transforming unjust material conditions.

Eligibility: This award is available to faculty, administrators, pre-service and in-service teachers, and teacher candidates engaged in teacher education.

The elements of outstanding community-grounded work include:

  • Dedication to advancing the strengths of, and responsiveness to, the needs of communities that have been historically underserved and marginalized.
  • Initiatives and projects that create pathways for historically underserved populations to engage with and influence local teacher education programs.
  • Collaborations that have had a significant and positive impact on both the needs of communities and teacher education.
  • Projects and initiatives that use innovative approaches in teaching, research, service, and outreach to advance racial justice, social justice, equity, and/or inclusion.Examples include:
  • Building sustained partnerships between teacher education programs and community advisory councils, grassroots organizations, or cultural centers to strengthen racially just teacher preparation.
  • Developing community-responsive clinical practice sites that prepare teacher candidates to engage authentically with local families and communities.
  • Participating in outreach and co-educational programs where community members help shape teacher preparation around cultural knowledge, funds of knowledge, and community cultural wealth.
  • Designing initiatives that empower teacher candidates to work alongside communities to address inequities in local schools, including mentoring, advocacy, or service-learning projects grounded in racial and social justice.
  • Encouraging faculty, staff, and teacher candidates to engage in community-based work that affirms cultural knowledge and supports equity and inclusion.Nominee evaluation rubric is linked HERE

Award for Critical Leadership in Teacher Education 

This award recognizes individuals in teacher education who are racial and/or social justice leaders and whose work alongside colleagues, students, and communities has made significant contributions to the transformation of teacher education programs, practices, and policies in ways that advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice.

Eligibility: This award is available to students, staff, faculty, or administrators engaged in teacher education.

The elements of outstanding leadership and impact include:

  • A demonstration of visionary and justice-oriented leadership that confronts inequities in teacher education through strategic decision-making, program design, allocation of resources, and establishment of priorities.
  • Research and data-informed practices that strengthen equity, diversity, and inclusion within teacher preparation and professional development.
  • Leadership practices that extend beyond routine expectations of the nominee’s role, contributing to structural and transformative change in teacher education.
  • Work that fosters collaboration between universities, K–12 schools, and communities to build equity-focused teacher pipelines and improve culturally sustaining clinical practice. Examples include:
  • Individuals who have demonstrated sustained commitment to the recruitment, retention, and mentoring of teacher candidates and educators from underrepresented populations.
  • Individuals who have addressed key areas of equity and inclusion in teacher education, such as admissions, curriculum redesign, clinical practice partnerships, or department/program climate.
  • Initiatives that foster diversity in the educator workforce by preparing teacher candidates to affirm and draw on students’ cultural and community-based knowledge.
  • Promoting justice-oriented professional education by advancing culturally relevant pedagogy, culturally responsive teaching, and anti-racist teacher preparation.
  • The use of institutional or program data to unpack inequities in teacher candidate recruitment, persistence, licensure, and placement, leading to meaningful reforms. Nominee evaluation rubric is linked HERE

Nomination Information

  • Nominations can be submitted by faculty, administrators, students and university departments. Self-nominations are also encouraged. 
  • Submissions must be sent via Google Form linked HERE. 

Nomination Guidelines

  •  Complete a letter of nomination that identifies the nominee and the specific award. In the letter:
  • Explain why you believe the nominee should receive the award by responding to the specific criteria outlined in the award’s elements. 
  • Keep in mind that the awards reviewers are relying on the information you provide to choose the most deserving recipient for the award. 
  • The nomination letter must be no more than 500-750 words in length (additional appendices and exhibits are welcome). In it, briefly:
  • Describe the programs, activities, or accomplishments that qualify the nominee for this award.
  • Describe the influences the nominee’s efforts have had relevant to the criteria of this award.

For Questions about the JEDI Award

Please contact Dr. Daniel Soodjinda

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Latest Awards News

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