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Cawthorne Professor of Teacher Education for Urban Schools Marilyn Cochran-Smith last month received an honorary degree from Spain’s University of Alicante, alongside two other pioneering education scholars, Stanford University Professor Linda Darling-Hammond and University of Wisconsin Professor Gloria Ladson-Billings.
University President Ignacio Jiménez Raneda praised Cochran-Smith and her colleagues for their unique international contributions to the field of education, particularly to teaching and teacher education in relation to issues of diversity, equity, and social justice. The three were the first female education scholars to receive honorary degrees from the university.
Cochran-Smith spoke about the importance of teaching and the enormous expectations society holds for educators in the 21st century.
“As we work on improving teacher quality in order to supply the labor force and meet the economic demands of the knowledge society in the 21st century, we must not forget that this is not the only, and perhaps not even the most important, goal of education,” she said. “We must also work on preparing future citizens to participate in democratic societies. We must focus on developing in all students the knowledge they need to deliberate, disagree, and to challenge the current structures of schools and society that perpetuate inequities.”