Christine Ralston, Ph.D., has been selected to participate in the inaugural "Inquiry Initiative" sponsored by the National Association of Teacher Educators.

Ralston, a teaching associate professor of childhood and elementary education at the U of A, is one of only 80 university- and school-based teacher educators and education scholars from around the United States chosen to participate in the initiative. Various teams will focus 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, explained the association's president, Rachelle Rogers.

Ralston's team will focus on opportunity gaps in educational policy.

"Specifically, my team will be investigating educational policy related to educator recruitment and retention," she said. "The time I spent collaborating with colleagues at the ATE Summer Conference in Nashville was positive, encouraging and empowering. It's exciting to be working with colleagues from across the country to serve our students and teachers in Arkansas."

The initiative aims to cultivate and support collaborative research inquiries across geographic and institutional contexts over a three-year span. It will include sustained and sustainable professional partnerships that work toward pedagogical innovations, research reports and presentations, and improved education policies.

Ralston joined the U of A College of Education and Health Professions in 2015. She began her career in education as an elementary school teacher in northern Indiana. After earning a Master of Education in elementary education and completing the Principal Licensure Program at Indiana Wesleyan University, Ralston served as an elementary school administrator in northern Indiana and suburban Chicago, Illinois.

In 2012, she completed her Ph.D. in educational leadership at Purdue University after defending an award-winning dissertation titled "Collaborative Data-driven Decision Making: A Qualitative Study of the Lived Experience of Primary Grade Classroom Teachers."

From 2012-2015, Ralston served in various higher education roles, including adjunct instructor, assistant professor, director of assessment, assessment coordinator and elementary education coordinator.

The Association of Teacher Educators is the nation's oldest professional organization dedicated to teacher preparation. The organization promotes advocacy, equity, leadership and professionalism for teacher educators and supports quality education for learners at all levels.