Beyond Knowledge and Pedagogy: Teachers With Academic Optimism and Their Work in High-Need Schools

• In Event: Roundtable Session 52
  In Roundtable Session: The Promise and Perils of Diversity in Urban Education

Abstract

The question that drives the research presented in this paper is –why are some students in a cohort more effective than others as teachers despite the fact that the academic preparation is the same for all ? We find the answers in the teacher beliefs and optimistic attitudes of efficacy about the students and themselves. Next, we visit their classrooms, review their journals question them about how they use mentors. Based on this data, we characterize their beliefs and philosophy while observing how their academic optimism plays out in their classroom behavior. The findings convey significance for teacher education.

Author

• Sheila R. Vaidya, Drexel University