The Urban Teacher Residency Model to Prepare Teachers: A Review of the Literature

Abstract

Urban teacher residency (UTR) has been promoted as a promising model to prepare teachers for urban schools. In this review, we analyzed 56 peer-reviewed, empirical journal articles on UTRs published between 2010 and 2020, following the PRISMA guidelines. While this literature suggested UTRs’ potentials to recruiting and retaining diverse urban school teachers, there was limited evidence showing UTRs’ impact on graduates’ classroom teaching and the learning of their students. We also identified varied degree of coursework-fieldwork alignment and uneven mentoring support across programs. We concluded with research implications and recommendations for teacher educators and policymakers to advance urban teacher education.