Developing a Teacher Residency Program for Bilingual and Special Education Teachers of Color

• In Event: Teacher Residencies in California: Addressing Inequities and Promoting Change in Education in Rural and Urban Areas

Abstract

This paper examines a residency program at a public university in California designed to train future educators of color in Special Education (SPED) and bilingual education.
Objectives include:
1. Examine residents’ preparedness to teach multilingual students and students with disabilities
2. Discuss the extent to which the residency program supports residents’ experiences and identities as future educators of color

Perspectives: This study is informed by research in Culturally Responsive/Sustaining Pedagogy for emergent bilinguals and students of Color with disabilities (Alim & Paris, 2017; Annamma & Morrison, 2018; Ladson-Billings, 2021). Central goals of the program include: 1. Teaching of systematic inequities brought forth through racism, ableism, and intersecting oppressions 2. Countering invisibilizing through Culturally Responsive/Sustaining Pedagogy (CRSP) (e.g., translanguaging, community Funds of Knowledge) and Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs) in SPED (e.g., modeling, prompting and reinforcement, and scaffolding).

Methods: Our team collected survey and interview data from nine teacher residents who identified as Latinx/Hispanic. Surveys and interviews asked about residents’ program experience and preparedness to teach using EBPs and CRSP for multilingual students and students with disabilities. Surveys responses and interviews were coded using a constant comparative approach (Strauss & Corbin, 2008). Emerging primary themes were identified and compared through additional rounds of axial coding.

Findings: As a result of this process, three findings were identified: 1) preparedness to teach, 2) impact of support systems, and 3) suggestions for improvement for future educators of Color. Regarding preparedness to teach, candidates reported an increased awareness of issues of inequity in schools, such as the over-representation of students of color in SPED as well as increased confidence in utilizing CRSPs, such as translanguaging. As one student noted: “Being introduced to what is translanguaging has helped me be able to be comfortable switching back and forth…and that's been something that I've welcomed in the classroom”
The residency program included financial support to offset the cost of attendance, including a living wage stipend, some books and materials. Candidates reported that the stipend was one of the main factors that sustained them in the program. Additionally, the program included social events to create a peer support network: The fact that I knew everyone in the program…we turn to each other, ‘Hey, can you help me out with this?’ So, the community was the best as a first gen student.”
Candidates reflected on the program’s commitment to future teachers of color. They urged hiring more faculty of color and additional programmatic support for managing heavy course load, full-time clinical teaching practice, and applying for jobs: “We would do the workload. It's a lot, but we would get it done. As students of color, I guess it's hard for us to kind of advocate for ourselves because we're not really usually seen in these roles.”

Significance: With calls to diversify the teacher workforce (Azar, 2020), research on residency programs must not only focus on recruitment efforts, but also experiences of residents of color. This paper includes timely implications for improving outcomes for teachers of color in shortage areas.

Authors

• Briana Ronan, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo
  Presenting Author

• Tina Cheuk, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo
  Presenting Author

• Leah Wood, California Polytechnic State University
  Presenting Author

• Sarah Hegg, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo
  Presenting Author