The book draws on a long-term collaboration between a team of Tanzanian and American educational researchers who have been carrying out research on learner-centered pedagogy as policy and practice. The authors' critical examination of pedagogical reform as it relates to teacher professional development, gender, inclusion, language policy, and standardized testing extend beyond the confines of any single country; therefore, each chapter concludes with questions for discussion that can be used in courses on social policy and teacher education in a variety of contexts, including in the U.S. The volume includes two chapters co-authored by OLPD doctoral students Matthew Thomas and Zikani Kaunda as well as a concluding chapter analyzing the benefits and challenges of international research collaboration.

Until 1940, Nuebeck lived in Germany, where he was a German-Jewish athlete. In the run-up to the 1936 Olympics, the Nazis put on a charade, allowing Jewish athletes to train in a segregated Olympic facility, then telling them days before the Games that they weren't good enough to compete.

After being beaten by Nazis, Neubeck and his parents fled to the Netherlands and then to the United States, where he eventually earned a master's in psychology and doctorate in education. In the 1960s, he taught of the nation's first courses on human sexuality. He retired from the University of Minnesota in the 1980's and passed away in 2008.

Read more about Neubeck at NCFR.org

"NCATE's accreditation renewal for the university, which extends through 2019, recognizes CEHD's high quality preparation of teacher candidates and other school professionals," said CEHD Dean Jean Quam.

"This recognition means a great deal to us and to our teacher candidates," she said. "We voluntarily pursue national accreditation, as it is not a state or national requirement, because we value the assessment of the quality of our programs against a set of very rigorous national standards and by our peers and P-12 school practitioners."

The university recommends Minnesota teaching licensure for about 300 teachers each year, most of whom remain in the state. CEHD works with several school partners in Minnesota to develop highly qualified teachers through its Teacher Education Redesign Initiative (TERI), which is supported by the Bush Foundation's Network for Excellence in Teaching (NExT). One of TERI's hallmarks is collaboration with local districts to prepare teachers focused on reducing disparities in student achievement.

"We have strong clinical programs, and our school district partners rely on us to provide prepared and innovative student teachers," said TERI director Misty Sato. "When we started TERI, we had closing the achievement gap as number one on our list of long-term goals. That includes diversifying our teaching profession and preparing teachers who are more culturally responsive. We are beginning to see results -- the diversity of the candidate pool has increased over the past 3 years and employers of CEHD-prepared teachers report on surveys that these teachers effectively teach students from culturally and ethnically diverse backgrounds."

Quam agrees that data collected by the college indicates a positive trend. "We are attracting a very talented pool of teacher candidates," she said. "They are academically strong, many have had international experiences, and they express a long-term commitment to teaching that is focused on equity and student achievement."

NCATE, which is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a specialized accrediting body, identified the U of M's field experiences and clinical practice for distinction. All U of M teacher candidates have clinical experiences that include numerous opportunities to design instruction that supports student learning in diverse classrooms, analyze student assessment data, and engage with other school professionals.

Jor'dan graduated from the School of Kinesiology in 2012 and was an advisee of professor Michael Wade.