Cherrel Miller Dyce has been selected to participate in the inaugural Inquiry Initiative sponsored by the Association of Teacher Educators.
Cherrel Miller Dyce, associate professor and executive director of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education, has been selected to participate in the inaugural Inquiry Initiative sponsored by the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE).
The Initiative is a first-of-its-kind collaborative exploration of teacher education practices and research focused on opportunity gaps in education. Opportunity gaps are defined as the unequal or inequitable distribution of resources and options individuals or groups encounter in schools, colleges and universities, and employment and professional contexts. The national, three-year program will bring together professional educators representing varied demographic profiles, experience levels and settings in an effort to identify opportunity gaps in education and how those gaps can be closed.
ATE President Rachelle Rogers described the rationale behind the development of this important new structure. “ATE is committed to exploring ways teacher education scholars and practitioners can impact the pressing teaching and learning challenges of our time,” Rogers said. “The Inquiry Initiative is a unique, sustainable, and collaborative structure that we believe can have that impact.”
Dyce was one of just 80 university- and school-based teacher educators and education scholars from around the United State chosen to participate in the ATE’s Inquiry Initiative. The initiative aims to cultivate and support collaborative research inquiries across geographic and institutional contexts over a three-year span. Imagined as an alternative to the traditional “drive-thru” mode of professional engagement available via most academic conferences, the Initiative will include sustained and sustainable professional partnerships that result in pedagogical innovations, research reports and presentations, and education policies.
The Association of Teacher Educators is the nation’s oldest professional organization dedicated to the preparation of teachers. It aims to promote advocacy, equity, leadership, and professionalism for teacher educators in all settings and supports quality education for all learners at all levels. An individual membership organization, ATE enhances quality teacher education through both exemplary clinical practice and research.
Learn more about the ATE Inquiry Initiative here.
Dyce joined Elon in 2010 as a post-doctoral fellow, and in addition to teaching undergraduate courses in the teacher education program, she developed the Intercultural Learning Certificate Program (ILCP) that all teacher education students complete prior to student teaching. This certificate program offers an experiential deep dive into issues of social justice, inclusion, equity, and diversity through an intentional structure of an orientation session, academic coursework, co-curricular engagement, experiential learning project, capstone and a digital portfolio capturing their collective experiences.
As the executive director of DEI for the school, Dyce provides strategic leadership and direction regarding all DEI matters in the Watts Williams School of Education. She supports the development and implementation of inclusive curricula and pedagogical practices, and promotes environments and develops relationships that foster dialogue, communication and community. Overall, she works to develop and strengthen relationships within the community to bring greater awareness to concepts related to DEI.
In 2020, Dyce was chosen to serve on Governor’s DRIVE Task Force.
Dyce’s research focuses on race, racial justice and equity, diversity and social justice education, cultural competence, educational inequities, family and community engagement, student development and mentoring. Dyce holds a bachelor of arts degree from York University, a master of science in social work from Columbia University, and a doctor of philosophy in higher education administration from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.