Diversity in the American School: Connections Between Teacher Candidate Learning and Racial Identity

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 29
  In Roundtable Session: Developing Innovative Programs to Develop Preservice Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Diversity

Abstract

In this paper, we compare the design of the course, Diversity in the American Schools, for one predominantly white cohort of teacher candidates with the design of the course for a cohort of teacher candidates predominantly made up of people of color and explore how the innovated content, pacing, and structure of the course facilitated learning based on the experiences of the teacher candidates in each cohort and allowed them to successfully make connections between their own learning and their work with young people in East Harlem. We examine the role of identity in preparing teachers to be effective in classrooms with students from diverse cultural, ethnic, racial and linguistic backgrounds.

Authors

• Sherryl B. Graves, Hunter College School of Education

• Susan Gonzowitz, East Harlem Tutorial Program