This article addresses teacher retention in a successful, new, small urban school. As a longitudinal study, it focuses on the intersections between individual teachers' expectations about teaching, contextual factors, and experiences at the school site and teachers' future career plans. The experiences and perspectives of three representative case…

In this article the author describes a mixed-methods study of first-year urban teachers' social support networks. Social Network Analysis (SNA) data on the support networks of 24 first-year teachers provided a background context and framework for the case study analysis of 4 of the teachers. Findings of the analysis identified 2 important networks…

This research investigates the ways in which three African American high school girls interpret and challenge racialized and sexualized media representations of their race, class, and gender within music videos. The authors assert that these students' ability to counter stereotypes is a reflection of their cultural orientations, as well as their…

This article shares the ways new early childhood teachers carry forward the social justice principles emphasized in their teacher education program into their actual practice. Their participation in a university-sponsored mentoring group served as the context for this study. Through an emergent themes analysis, we explored how they prioritized…

In this article, we argue that preparing and maintaining a cadre of culturally responsive teachers is critical to improving urban education and achieving educational equity. We discuss a collaborative, social-justice-oriented approach to teacher preparation committed to developing a stable and effective teaching force reflective of the student…

In an attempt to address perceived shortcomings in traditional content-area literacy preparation, an interdisciplinary group of teacher education faculty developed an approach called "content-driven literacy" (CDL), which was applied to the design of courses to prepare preservice secondary science and social studies teachers. This article…

Scholarship on immigrant integration often examines immigrant characteristics and the host society's contexts of reception. This article explores how teachers fit within this framework by presenting findings on teachers' preferences to teach immigrant-origin youth who are classified as "English learners" (ELs) within separate content courses known…

This qualitative study explored 8 urban mentor teachers' experiences and perceptions of mentoring in a yearlong field placement in an Urban Teacher Residency program. Results indicate mentors' and preservice teachers' joint work provided a context conducive for professional learning and contributing to a larger social justice mission. However,…

The purpose of this paper is to describe and present results from the fourth year of a five-year collaborative research project between an interactive science center and a local college. The purpose of the project is not only to recruit and train approximately 50 highly qualified science teachers who will teach in New York City public schools, but…

The urban school context is rife with descriptors that frame children's lives in deficit ways: "under-prepared," "below grade level," "limited English proficient." In this study, I reframe my perception of the life of one child in my second-grade class to better understand the funds of knowledge he brings to school each day. The data include…

The hybrid educator is an essential contributor to the development of new public school teachers. A hybrid educator is a college adjunct professor employed full time by a public school system. The role of the hybrid educator involves the navigation of two separate systems in developing new teachers: the university and the public school. This…

Given the increasing challenges faced by high-poverty urban schools, mentoring has become the panacea for policy makers interested in a quick-fix solution to the teacher quality dilemma. As a result, mentoring programs have experienced exponential growth with little empirical attention during the last decade. This 16-month qualitative…

This exploratory study represents an analysis of 15 exit portfolios of students enrolled in a program to prepare teachers for urban schools. Portfolios were analyzed holistically across entries to determine the degree to which students integrated multiple concepts related to teaching in urban schools, including: asset/deficit perspectives,…

Reform-minded teachers encounter formidable challenges, especially in the difficult conditions of typical urban settings. Maintaining an online web log (or "blog") has been suggested as a powerful tool to support their practice and continuing professional development. To further articulate how and why blogs can provide teachers with unique…

Like schools in the early twentieth century, urban schools in the early 21st century pose challenges to educators at all levels. Large and growing numbers of students whose first language is not English, students with special needs, students of color and students from low-income homes demand new approaches for which many educators might not have…