ERIC Number: EJ954569
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 14
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1536-3031
EISSN: N/A
Crossing Borders without Leaving Town: The Impact of Cultural Immersion on the Perceptions of Teacher Education Candidates
Waddell, Jennifer
Issues in Teacher Education, v20 n2 p23-36 Fall 2011
The racial/ethnic populations in public schools have changed dramatically in recent years and will continue to shift to a majority non-White population. The National Center for Education Statistics (2010) reports 67.3% of the student population in urban districts is composed of students of color. Yet, the population of teachers in the United States is 83% White (National Center for Education Statistics, 2011), the majority of whom are from middle class English-only backgrounds. These differing life experiences can create borders between students and their teachers. Often, White teachers will interpret differences in life experiences, cultural frames of reference, race, class, and gender as a deficit on the part of students, which leads to inequitable educational opportunities for the nation's children. The changing demographics within schools create an immediate need for teacher preparation programs to better prepare all teachers for the diversity that exists within their schools. This article focuses on one elementary teacher education program that has responded to the call from the literature by redesigning teacher preparation specifically for urban schools. The author describes the programmatic features and results of a study that examined the impact of two courses, "Community Immersion" and "Working with Families and Communities," on candidates' perceptions of teaching in urban communities.
Descriptors: Preservice Teacher Education, Urban Schools, Teacher Education Programs, Educational Opportunities, Student Teacher Attitudes, Cultural Education, Ethnic Diversity, Student Diversity, Elementary School Teachers, Urban Teaching, School Community Programs, Family School Relationship, Student Journals, Multicultural Education, Experiential Learning, Knowledge Base for Teaching, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Attitude Change, Cross Cultural Training
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Education; Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United States
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A