Collaboration between Multicultural and Special Teacher Educators: Pulling Together the Threads in the Conversation

Overview & Synopsis

In this commentary, the author aims to pull together the threads in the conversation between multicultural and special teacher educators surrounding issues of collaboration, as reflected in this issue. She begins with a brief discussion of collaborative teacher education--a central concept to the dialogue--and then comments on why she thinks such an approach to preparing teachers for today's schools is compelling and what is at stake if educators fail to collaborate. Looking across the articles, the author then highlights major tensions between the fields of multicultural and special education that demand candid discussion before the collaboration can take place. Building on insights offered by the authors who write from a multicultural perspective and her own professional experience, the author identifies a few ideas that have the potential for moving the needed collaboration forward.