Effects of Racial and Ethnic Matching of Teacher Candidates of Color With Mentors

Abstract

This chapter reviews the limitations of current teacher preparation programs to support the professional development and placement of teachers of color and their resulting underrepresentation relative to the racial makeup of the U.S. student population. The authors discuss how teacher residency programs can more effectively support the development and preparation of teachers of color through their most defining feature: the pairing of residents with mentor teachers for a rigorous year-long clinical experience. The authors examine how sharing a racial identity with mentors has statistically significant effects on mentors' perceptions of residents' preparedness to teach and residents' satisfaction with their programs. The authors highlight how teacher preparation programs, and residencies specifically, might better support the development and preparation of teachers of color through strategic design of teacher candidates' clinical experiences. They also posit ways in which preparation programs can disrupt ongoing racism and racial inequities in teacher preparation.