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University Faculty Co-Teaching a High School Course to Introduce BIPOC Students to the Field of Education (Poster 6)
Thu, April 11, 9:00 to 10:30am, Pennsylvania Convention Center, Floor: Level 100, Room 118BAbstract
Our aim is to increase enrollment of BIPOC students in our credential programs, and we have chosen to focus on recruiting high school students, in partnership with a local school district. We have developed a course that one of our team members will be co-teaching with faculty at our partner high school. This class is called Explorations in Teaching and Learning in Diverse K-12 Settings, and students will have an opportunity to obtain university credit for it. Our team member will network with students, faculty, staff and community organizations to educate them about pathways to a career in education. Our objective is to create a sustainable model for the district to continue the course after this pilot year, and that they will ensure that BIPOC students are provided opportunities to take this course.
Gist and Bristol (2021) identify recruitment at the high school level as an important and emerging strand of research. They cite work by Lightfoot and White (p. 10) on grow-your-own programs that engage Students of Color in considering their identities and researching inequities in their own schools. Researchers have found that these sorts of programs, when planned thoughtfully with a focus on social justice, have “led students to become significantly more motivated to pursue teaching careers and to view teaching as a means of promoting social change” (p. 11). This means that there is potential for a co-taught high school course that introduces students to the complexities and realities of the educational systems to influence young people to go into the teaching profession.
We are using a case study approach (Yin, 2003) to conduct the study, including qualitative research that will include surveys and interviews of students. In addition, as part of our work in the TLab, we will create a change package that will use continuous data analysis to show progress towards our aim.
We will collect data throughout the year on this high school course, from planning and development through implementation. Data sources will include notes from team meetings and student work samples. We will also conduct a pre- and post-survey with students who are taking the course, as well as 1:1 interviews. We seek to understand why students might or might not consider a potential career in education, and what educational experiences have the greatest impact in influencing their future plans.
As we are starting year 2, our study is in process and will be completed with data analyzed and ready to present in April 2024.
This is important research as teacher educators seek ways to broaden the reach of credentialing programs beyond a traditional track. We seek to reach youth who might not typically see themselves as educators, and invite them into the possibility of becoming teachers.