The Roles of Urban Indigenous Community Members in Collaborative Field-Based Teacher Preparation

• In Event: 16.056 - Roundtable Session 4
  In Roundtable Session: 16.056-17 - Schooling and Academic Performance of Indigenous Learning Communities

Abstract

This presentation depicts the findings of a qualitative, single case design study that examined the role of urban Indigenous community members as co-teacher educators in field-based teacher preparation. We describe the structure of an urban Indigenous community-university partnership for teacher preparation within a tribally diverse setting located off federal reservation lands as an effort to advance self-determination and self-education. We find the role of community members as co-teacher educators as a vital method in improving urban Indigenous education. Community members convey the importance of their knowledge and experiences around meeting the holistic needs of their children and recommend increased time in urban Indigenous community settings to better prepare teacher candidates for the complex needs of Indigenous children in urban schools.

Authors

• Anna Lees, Loyola University Chicago

• Kelly N Ferguson, Loyola University Chicago