A New Era in the Preparation of Teachers for Urban Schools

Abstract

Disconnects between the demographics of teacher candidates and the students attending today’s public urban schools are well documented. At the same time, research points to the educational value of linking students’ lived experiences to their classroom learning. This article presents the research-based findings of faculty who implemented a field-based “pedagogy lab” in an urban-focused, collaborative teacher education program. The lab offered teacher candidates deliberate opportunities to interrogate their ethnicity, gender, and social class then use that knowledge to enhance various disciplinary-based instructional activities for PK-12 pupils. The findings suggest new ways of preparing teachers for the children attending urban schools.