Author(s)
Karlin Burks, Elizabeth City State University, USA
Nicole Austin, Elizabeth City State University, USA
Kimberly Fitchett-Bazemore, Elizabeth City State University, USA

Abstract
As COVID-19 ravages our country and devastates our K12 Education system, the crisis has highlighted the need for teachers to be educated in the art of advocacy as a necessary skill for reforming the teaching profession (Brown, 2008). Despite the necessity of teachers to possess practical advocacy skills to advocate for themselves and their students, many teacher preparation programs do not provide courses that incorporate teacher advocacy. This article serves to provide a 3-step plan in which institutions can use to revamp their current undergraduate education curriculums to include advocacy instruction for their preservice teachers.

Keywords
Teacher advocacy, advocacy, teacher preparation programs

Cite this paper
Karlin Burks, Nicole Austin, Kimberly Fitchett-Bazemore, Teacher Advocacy in the time of COVID-19: Rethinking Teacher Education Curriculums, SCIREA Journal of Education. Vol. 6 , No. 2 , 2021 , pp. 52 - 61 . https://doi.org/10.54647/education88208

References

[ 1 ]	Brown, C. P. (2008). Research in review: Advocating for policies to improve practice. Young Children, 63(4), 70–77.
[ 2 ]	Dever, D. (2006). Early childhood teacher education policy: Linking teacher educators and policy makers. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 27, 391-399.
[ 3 ]	Flannery, M.E. (2020, March 26). During Pandemic, Unions Continue to Advocate for Educators and Students. National Education Association. https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/during-pandemic-unions-continue-advocacy
[ 4 ]	Force, T. (2020). Teacher Task Force calls to support 63 million teachers touched by the COVID-19 crisis. Retrieved October 09, 2020, from https://teachertaskforce.org/news/teacher-task-force-calls-support-63-million-teachers-touched-covid-19-crisis
[ 5 ]	Hollingsworth, H., Knight-McKenna, M., & Bryan , R. (2016) Policy and advocacy concepts and processes: innovative content in early childhood teacher education, Early Child Development and Care, 186:10, 1664-1674. http://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2015.1121252
[ 6 ]	Liebovich, B.J. and Adler, S.M. (2009a). Teaching Advocacy in Early Years Initial Teacher Education Programmes. Forum, 51(1), 25-34. http://doi.org/10.2304/forum.2009.51.1.25
[ 7 ]	North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. (2013). North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards. https://files.nc.gov/dpi/north_carolina_professional_teaching_standards_2.pdf
[ 8 ]	Trombly, C.E. (2020), "Learning in the time of COVID-19: capitalizing on the opportunity presented by the pandemic", Journal of Professional Capital and Community, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPCC-05-2020-0016
[ 9 ]	UNESCO Educational Sector. 2020, April. “Distance Learning Strategies in Response to COVID-19 School Closures.” UNESCO COVID-19 Education Response, Education Sector Issue Note n 2.1.