Making Sense of a Yearlong Teacher Residency: Perspectives of School and University Partners

• In Event: Exploring Equitable School and University Partnerships

Abstract

This paper examined how a variety of teacher education stakeholders made sense of a recent policy change in Louisiana requiring a year-long teacher residency in lieu of traditional field experiences. Adopting a sensemaking framework, qualitative data collected from semi-structured interviews with university administrators, faculty and supervisors, district administrators, and school-based mentor teachers revealed that participants overwhelmingly believed that the residency constituted a better preparation for preservice teachers to learn about teaching through intensive classroom teaching under the guidance of mentor teachers. Participants also shared challenges associated with limited time and information in transition to the residency model. These findings have implications for teacher education policy makers in supporting education stakeholders’ ongoing policy sensemaking.

Author

• Yiting Chu, University of Louisiana at Monroe