Preparing Urban Teachers: Undergraduate Immersion in Communities and Schools

• In Event: Lessons Learned From Preservice and In-Service Teacher Programs

Abstract

Teacher educators have struggled for decades with the challenges of preparing excellent urban teachers who provide academically rigorous and culturally relevant experiences for their students. As urban teacher educators, the goal of the research presented here was to study the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of program graduates who participated in STEP-UP, the Chicago PDS program, and who are currently teaching in the Chicago Public Schools. Quantitative survey data involving participants as preservice teachers was combined with qualitative interview data involving participants during their PDS year, and their first and second years as CPS teachers. Through our research, we aimed to illuminate the ways in which STEP-UP and the Chicago PDS program influence the practices of early career graduates.

Authors

• Elizabeth A. Skinner, Illinois State University

• Brian R. Horn, Illinois State University