Jumping Into the Deep End: Developing Culturally Responsive Urban Teachers Through Community-Immersive Partnerships

• In Event: Innovations in Urban Education: Insider Perspectives

Abstract

Objective
This presentation will provide a detailed overview of a critical service learning project (slam poetry mentorship) involving undergraduate urban special education majors, a community-based organization in Chicago, and two neighborhood schools. Critical elements of this community immersive service learning model and how it can be sustained will also be discussed.

Theoretical Framework
This critical service learning model builds on the work of multiple experts in the field who have stressed the importance of early and meaningful community immersion focused on culturally responsive teaching (CRT) within the sociocultural context of an urban neighborhood. Additionally, this work was designed with a clear and intentional collaborative framework aimed at developing “change agency” that is rooted in social justice and authentic relationship-building (Arellano, Cintron, Flores & Berta-Avila, 2016).

Methods and Data Sources
This particular study used a mixed methods approach, with descriptive statistics (paired samples t-tests) used for the group pre- and post-surveys and qualitative analysis and coding of both (a) the pre- and post-project reflections and (b) interviews from the culminating service learning event. Data sources used were (a) pre- and post-surveys; (b) pre- and post-written reflections; and (c) interviews of community members, K-12 student participants, and undergrad student participants.

Results
Qualitative results indicate that this service-learning project had tremendous impact on the K-12 student participants, in-service teachers, and on the community at large. Additionally, as part of this urban redesigned course and the embedded service-learning component, evaluating the impact on teacher preparation for urban settings was paramount. As such, students completed pre- and post-surveys each semester that assessed: (a) urban teaching intentions, (b) attitudes towards diversity, (c) teaching efficacy, (d) inner-city Chicago neighborhood experience, and (e) school based experiences. As part of the post-survey, students were also asked additional questions that included: (a) the influence of the redesigned course on changes in their Urban Teaching Intentions and Teaching Efficacy, (b) feedback on various aspects of the redesigned course, (c) how this course influenced their teacher education experience, and (d) how the trip to Chicago connected to the overall course. Using paired-samples t-tests, increases were observed in every assessed scale, with statistical significance occurring in most categories across both semesters. These findings indicate that teacher candidates participating in the redesigned course and ROYAL were significantly more prepared to teach students who have culturally different backgrounds from their own; effectively communicate with students; participate in the professional community of the school; and actively engage students in learning.

Scholarly Significance
Through this immersive programming, teacher candidates develop an extensive knowledge of urban neighborhoods and learn rich social and cultural histories from the lens of the community residents and children. These acculturated interactions bear critical opportunities that allow teacher candidates to confront their own privileges and sources of implicit bias as they become acquainted with and reframe their understanding of their students’ cultural histories. In this way, they can better serve their students by tailoring their instruction to their social and academic needs while simultaneously employing the cultural rituals their students will meaningfully connect.

Authors

• April L. Mustian, Illinois State University

• Robert E. Lee, University of Central Missouri

• Valentina Gamboa-Turner, Illinois State University