**1. Introduction**

Teacher educators are faced with myriad challenges as they prepare the next generation of classroom leaders. One particular challenge is learning to teach in ways that equitably serve students from diverse racial, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds, particularly as teachers are often very different racially, culturally, and linguistically from their students [1]. In the U.S. education context, outcomes in achievement continue to favor white native English speakers [2]. In addition, teachers increasingly face curricular constraints, mandates, and policies that dictate the ways in which they leverage resources, engage in particular pedagogies, and monitor student performance [3]. Although these policies are often written with the intention of standardizing schooling to ensure all students have access to equitable

experiences, when policymakers attempt to control every aspect of teachers' practices, it can limit teachers' ability to be responsive to students' interests and needs. This problem becomes even more pronounced as research suggests teachers' practices must become more adaptive—not less— to meet the needs of diverse learners [4, 5]. In addressing these challenges, one facet of teacher preparation that invites teachers to define challenges and design solutions is practice-based research [6]. The possibility of conducting research on ones' own teaching holds tremendous potential to help teachers engage with the political, professional, and personal aspects of teaching [7]. In this chapter, the history of and methods for research conducted by teachers is reviewed. Then, a systematic review is conducted to demonstrate the ways in which this type of preparation can function. Finally, suggestions for teacher preparation are provided.
