Suburban Expectation Versus an Urban Reality: U.S. Beginner Teachers' Experiences Teaching in Diverse Suburbs

• In Event: Novice Teachers’ Experiences in High-Needs International Contexts

Abstract

As urban neighborhoods are gentrified the urban natives are often displaced and must find other housing, the suburbs being one. This study will explore the impact this migration has on suburban school districts. The nation is on the cusp of a great community shift and this is creating cultural issues in not only the gentrified area schools, but the suburban area schools as well (Klineberg & Braswell, 2012). Poverty is a major concern for any school district. The suburbs are the home of the largest and faster-growing poor population in the US (Kneebone, 2010). The socioeconomic changes have created an interesting dynamic in suburban. These demographic changes often lead to increased teacher attrition.
The purpose of this narrative inquiry is to explore what factors contribute to beginner teachers’ identity as they navigate landscapes that are different from their expectations. Many beginning teachers want to work in the suburbs because they believe the better schools are found in these areas. However suburban schools have become more urban in nature due to demographic changes. The goal of the research is to find themes that can help prepare new teachers to work in diverse settings and increase teacher retention in urban and suburban areas.
Narrative inquiry is a method of research used to explain lived and told stories (Johnson & Christensen, 2014). This exploratory study will take the experiences of teachers and investigate their internal and existential condition, through storying backwards and forward. Narrative inquiry will allow for the teachers participating in this study to re-story their experiences and allow me to identify educative happenings (Mitton-Kukner, Nelson, & Desrochers, 2010). Narrative inquiry serves as the best way of understanding experiences because it attends to teacher experiences (sociality) that occur in context (place) over time (temporal) (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000).
Focusing on three participants stories (two white females and one African-American female), two common themes emerged. 1) The new teachers wished they were better prepared to work with diverse student populations. 2) The new teachers had to reconcile their expectations and realities to create their teacher identities. This research can help create more comprehensive diversity education in teacher education programs as well as contribute to the ongoing discussion of teacher identity.

Author

• Tenesha Gale, Texas A&M University - College Station