What Does It Mean to Educate Teachers of Color? A Vertical Case Study Approach

• In Event: Teacher Experiences of Race and Diversity in Teacher Education

Abstract

As policy directives to diversify the American teaching force take on renewed intensity, there is a need for research that decenters Whiteness and focuses on the experiences of students of color in teacher preparation programs.  This study uses a vertical case study approach to examine policies and programs addressing teacher preparation in efforts to diversify the teaching force.  By foregrounding the experiences of students of color in a program resulting from a state policy to diversify the teaching force, this study highlights several important, understudied aspects at the macro and micro levels of analysis.  Findings address the need for teacher education programs that support teachers of color to develop understandings of race, ethnicity and culture that are dynamic.   

Author

• Anne Burns Thomas, SUNY - College at Cortland