Position Description
Situated on the unceded, ancestral and traditional territory of the dxwd@w?abs(Duwamish people) and Coast Salish peoples, the College of Education (COE) at the University of Washington (UW) is seeking a visionary educator whose academic, professional, and personal experiences speak to early learning, racial equity, and social justice. We are a College that takes racially, anti-colonial, and linguistically just education as central to our mission, as well as awareness of the indigenous lands on which we live and work. They will join the early childhood faculty of the existing early childhood undergraduate programs (both on campus and online) as well as other faculty in the college who share a strong commitment to justice in education and society and building partnerships with Black, Latinx, Indigenous and other BIPOC communities in addressing issues of linguicism, anti-Black racism, anti-Indigeneity and ableism. Our early childhood programs prepare students to work with and for young children, families, and communities to thrive in a variety of early educational spaces.
The Assistant Teaching Professor filling this role will collaborate with a team of faculty, staff, students, and community partners working to advance and sustain a diverse early childhood workforce with commitments to educational justice.
The role combines continuous undergraduate instruction and program improvement, relying on critical, sociocultural, and justice-driven perspectives on early childhood development, learning and teaching, and community engagement with deep commitments to the values set forth in the NAEYC's Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education Position Statement.
A successful candidate could bring a variety of perspectives and interests to the position, including but not limited to:
- instructional expertise in areas such as (but not limited to) (1) critical perspectives and justice-centered approaches to early childhood education, (2) culturally and linguistically sustaining pedagogies; (3) one or more curricular areas such as early childhood math, science, or interactive media and digital literacy
- experience in coaching and supervising early childhood educators
- experience and/or instructional expertise in inclusive education and disability studies in early childhood
The position will carry the non-tenure rank of Assistant Teaching Professor and is a three-year, 9-month position at 100% FTE with two paid months of summer available based on curricular need. Renewal of this appointment will be considered in the second year of the appointment. There are two positions available to be filled.
Primary responsibilities include:
- Serve as a member of both the Early Care and Education (ECE, online) and Early Childhood and Family Studies (ECFS, on campus) program teams (including other faculty, staff, and graduate students) that collaboratively plan and maintain the curriculum for these programs, including both required core courses and electives for undergraduates. Participate in the programs' ongoing work to make meaningful connections between university and community partners to support young children and their families to thrive in building racially equitable and socially just communities.
- Be the lead instructor for the ECFS senior project course sequence designed to support students completing a yearlong culminating community-based project that integrates research, policy, and teaching practice, and is aligned with NAEYC's Professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators Develop and teach foundational courses (both on campus and online), including methods courses in the area of early learning.
- Develop and teach additional elective courses in partnership with other faculty that pertain to emerging program needs and the candidate's areas of expertise and practice.
- Work with the ECFS and ECE academic advisers and Lead Faculty to provide support structures and processes for monitoring student progress through the program that supports the College's efforts to diversify the early childhood educator workforce.
- Collaborate with the Community-Based Learning Coordinator to cultivate partnerships with university or community organizations to link theory with practice and build shared capacity to do justice and equity work together.
- Collaborate with the early learning faculty and staff in the development and implementation of recruitment efforts to support Black, Indigenous, and students of color. Contribute to practices and curriculum that help BIPOC students thrive as members of our college community.
- Participate in undergraduate events to promote the mission of the college and the Undergraduate Programs.
- Work with and develop just relationships with diverse groups of adult learners who hold both historically privileged and excluded identities, including race, culture, gender identity, sexual identity, social class, age, language, well-being, mental health, disability, and/or religion.
The UW College of Education, the nation's 5th ranked public school of education, dedicates its resources to making excellent education a daily reality for all students and is committed to solving real-world educational challenges and closing opportunity gaps. Members of the College maintain a set of active partnerships with more than 300 educational institutions in the region, state, and nation--schools, school districts, community-based organizations, informal educational institutions, and professional organizations. Our College's mission leads us to invest in recruiting colleagues who demonstrate experience with, knowledge of, and a commitment to working with culturally diverse communities to address pressing educational challenges and foster a more just and caring society. The University of Washington is committed to building a vibrant environment for American Indian and Indigenous Studies. The University's growing infrastructure includes the Department of American Indian Studies; the Indigenous Wellness Research Institute; the Intellectual House, a longhouse-style facility opened in 2015; the Burke Museum's Bill Holm Center for the Study of Northwest Indian Art; and the newly developing Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies. University of Washington faculty engage in teaching, research and service.
Qualifications
Required qualifications include:
- An earned doctorate (e.g. PhD or EdD) or foreign equivalent in Education or other relevant field by the date of appointment, with a strong emphasis in an area including, but not limited to, early learning development, sociocultural learning theory, curriculum and program development, critical and culturally sustaining pedagogies, and/or educational and social policy
- A minimum of two years of early elementary or preschool teaching experience. Positive factors for consideration include, but are not limited to, teaching experience in settings serving racially, socioeconomically, and culturally diverse communities, including publicly-funded early childhood programs, community-centered non-profits, home-based care or private centers.
Instructions
Applications should include
1. A detailed letter describing qualifications for the position, including academic preparation and experience
2. Curriculum vitae
3. The names and contact information of 3 individuals who can provide written references (Please do not send letters of recommendation at this time; the College of Education will request letters for all semi-finalists)
4. A one-page diversity statement describing your experience and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion; your philosophy of teaching and learning and how it supports university-school-community partnerships; and how your work will further the College of Education's commitment to racial equity and social justice
5. Any additional materials that you might provide to evidence relational, justice-centered teaching practices.
Please submit applications electronically to Interfolio at https://apply.interfolio.com/98710. The committee will begin reviewing applications on January 15, 2021. The position will remain open until filled. Appointment to commence on or about September 16, 2022. Please send queries about this position to Dr. Lynn Dietrich, Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at lynn76@uw.edu.
Search committee members include: Lynn Dietrich (search chair), lynn76@uw.edu; Maggie Beneke, beneke@uw.edu; Miriam Packard, mpackard@uw.edu; Soojin Oh Park, parkso@uw.edu; Scott Weatherman, weather9@uw.edu, and Zainab Alhassani, zeeuw@uw.edu.
To learn more about the University of Washington (http://www.washington.edu) and the College of Education (http://education.washington.edu), our mission and goals, research and outreach activities, faculty, and academic programs, please visit us on the web.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All
qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed,
religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information,
gender identity or expression, age, disability, or protected veteran status.
