1st Edition

Diversifying the Teacher Workforce Preparing and Retaining Highly Effective Teachers

    220 Pages
    by Routledge

    220 Pages
    by Routledge

    Diversifying the Teacher Workforce critically examines efforts to diversify the teaching force and narrow the demographic gap between who teaches and who populates U.S. classrooms. While the demographic gap is often invoked to provide a needed rationale for preparing all teachers, and especially White teachers, to work with students of color, it is far less often invoked in an effort to examine why the teaching force remains predominantly White in the first place. Based on work the National Association for Multicultural Education is engaged in on this phenomenon, this edited collection brings together leading scholars to look closely at this problem. They examine why the teaching force is predominantly White from historical as well as contemporary perspectives, showcase and report available data on a variety of ways this problem is being tackled at the pre-service and teacher credentialing levels, and examine how a diverse and high-quality teaching force can be retained and thrive. This book is an essential resource for any educator interested in exploring race within the context of today’s urban schools.

       

    Introduction: Why a Diverse Teaching Force Must Thrive. Part I: Communities of Practice: Supporting Culturally Efficacious Leaders and Teachers. 1. A Competing Theory of Change: Critical Teacher Development. 2. Teach Tomorrow in Oakland: History, Teacher Profiles and Lessons Learned. 3. Changing the Field: Teachers of Color Move Into Leadership Positions. Part II: Teacher Education Programs: The Promise and Possibilities of Preparing a Culturally Diverse Teaching Force. 4. Contextualizing the Demographic Imperative: Teacher Education for Students of Color in a Rural Community. 5. The Turning Point of One Teacher Education Program: Recruitment, Preparation and Retention of Diverse Teacher Candidates. 6. Newcomers Entering Teaching: The Possibilities of a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Teaching Force. Part III: Recruiting and Retaining Teacher Candidates of Color: University Partnerships with Public Schools. 7. Growing Your Own Teachers in Illinois: Promising Practice for Urban and Rural “High Need” Schools. 8. Pathways2Teaching:  Being and Becoming a “Rida”. 9. Admission System of a Teacher Preparation Program Designed to Allow Access for Diverse Teacher Candidates. 10. Tactics and Strategies for Breaking the Barriers to a Diverse Teaching Force. Part IV: Diversity Plans, Demographic Trends, and Accreditation in Higher Education. 11. Architecting the Change We Want: Applied Critical Race Theory and the Foundation of a Diversity Strategic Plan in a College of Education. 12. Diversifying Teacher Education at a Predominantly White Institution: A Public Scholarship Framework. 13. The Potential of Accreditation to Foster Diversity in Teacher Education Programs. Contributor Bios.

    Biography

    Christine E. Sleeter is Professor Emerita in the College of Professional Studies at California State University Monterey Bay, USA.

    La Vonne I. Neal is Dean of the College of Education at Northern Illinois University, USA.

    Kevin K. Kumashiro is Dean of the School of Education at the University of San Francisco, USA.

    "This is an important call to action for a diverse and well-qualified teaching force that reflects the next generation of American students. As the authors make clear, segregation takes many forms, and we must extend our focus beyond just the students in the classroom." - Benjamin Todd Jealous, former President & CEO, NAACP

    "A challenging and persuasive book that examines how racism has contributed to the lack of diversity in the teaching force, this is an essential read for all educators and policy makers interested in insightful analysis and innovative solutions across various contexts." - Jacqueline Jordan Irvine, Candler Professor Emeritus, Emory University