Opportunities to Teach and Learn in High-Needs Schools: Student Teachers’ Experiences in Urban Placements

Abstract

This article presents findings from a qualitative study of student teachers' opportunities to learn in and for urban, high-needs schools. The analysis builds on Darling-Hammond and Bransford’s knowledge base for teaching framework to examine the role of student teaching in preparing teachers as equity-minded adaptive experts, equipped to work with diverse students in urban, high-needs schools. The study focuses on the experiences and perspectives of six preservice elementary teachers across two specialized urban teacher education programs. Findings demonstrate how placement features—in particular, cooperating teachers’ classroom-based instantiations of the external policy context—enabled and/or constrained opportunities for preservice teacher learning. Implications focus on new directions for research and practice in specialized teacher education. In conclusion, the authors call for closer investigation of what and how preservice teachers learn in and through student teaching.