Christine Ralston, a teaching associate professor of childhood and elementary education in the College of Education and Health Professions, was recently elected to the Association of Teacher Educators' (ATE) board of directors.

Ralston, who also serves as assistant head of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, will officially begin her three-year term on the board following ATE's 2025 annual meeting, which will be held March 7-12 in New Orleans.

"It is an honor to be elected to this position and to represent the University of Arkansas at the national level," she said. "With the Association of Teacher Educators, I have the opportunity to learn from other teacher educators from around the country and also to team up with other education professionals and teacher educators for scholarship, service and professional learning."

Upon joining the board, she'll help lead an organization composed of over 1,400 members during what she calls a "critical time in education" due to challenges in teacher retention and recruitment. ATE's board contains eight elected members and a team of executive officers.

The organization was founded in 1920 and has since served as the oldest body dedicated solely to improving teacher education for school and campus-based teacher educators. Its members come from colleges, universities, school districts and state education agencies within more than 40 regional and state-affiliated units.

Ralston has been a member of ATE since 2017. She has chaired or co-chaired multiple committees and symposiums and was selected for ATE's inaugural Inquiry Initiative, which addresses opportunity gaps in education. Ralston specifically addresses gaps in educational policy and is one of 80 educators nationwide working on the three-year initiative.

She said she's looking forward to this new opportunity to tell "the full story" of the teaching and teacher educator professions while advancing ATE's mission of promoting advocacy, equity, leadership and professionalism for teacher educators across all educational settings.

"We need to address pressing issues about working conditions, policy and accountability," she said.

Ralston also views this as an opportunity to collaborate across related roles and responsibilities to increase membership and amplify ATE's impact. 

Since beginning her career as an elementary school teacher in northern Indiana, Ralston has held numerous leadership roles across different levels of education. After completing a Master of Education in elementary education and the Principal Licensure Program at Indiana Wesleyan University, she served as an elementary school administrator in northern Indiana and suburban Chicago.

In 2012, she completed her Ph.D. in educational leadership at Purdue University. Ralston served in various higher education roles, including adjunct instructor, assistant professor, director of assessment, assessment coordinator and elementary education coordinator, before joining the College of Education and Health Professions in 2015.

To learn more about the Association of Teacher Educators, visit their website.