Getting Real: Designing Teacher Education Programs for the Realities of Teaching

• In Event: Pipe Dreams: Humanizing the Teaching Profession and Pipeline Through Liberatory Imagining

Abstract

We asked teachers across California what could have been done in their preparation programs that could have better prepared them for the realities of teaching. The majority of respondents referenced responsibilities that are often thought of as secondary or extra-curricular to their primary job of providing educational instruction. Making phone calls home, handling difficult administrators and parents, classroom management, and creating equitable assessments are all explicit and implicit responsibilities of being a TK-12 teacher. However, our survey suggests that teachers do not feel they were adequately prepared or trained to confidently and effectively perform these tasks. Many cited that their learning experience focused more on theory rather than practice. Through the lens of inservice teachers, this paper interrogates teacher preparation curriculum and pedagogy and highlights the ways in which teachers are being inadequately prepared for the realities of their job.
Theoretical Perspectives. Using a culturally responsive teaching lens, this paper aims to identify the curricular gaps in teacher preparation programs (TEP) that lead to educators feeling inadequately or under prepared for the complex work of teaching. Culturally responsive teaching is a student-centered approach that acknowledges and integrates students’ culture and experiences into the curriculum and pedagogy so learning is more relevant and meaningful (Ladson-Billings, 2021). This research suggests that the current teacher education curriculum may not adequately address important cultural expectations, job responsibilities, and experiences that teachers encounter as part of the profession.

Methods. This study utilizes data from a 2022 survey conducted by Hart Research Associates in partnership with the California Teachers Association and UCLA’s Center for the Transformation of Schools. The survey was conducted in the summer of 2022, with a representative cross section of 4,632 CTA members who currently work as TK-12th grade teachers in California. Survey questions were multiple choice, scale, rank-order, and open-ended. This paper focuses on responses (N=182) to one open-ended question (Q49): What in your preparation program could have helped better prepare you for your teaching assignment?.

Findings. Main findings include:
Classroom Management - Classroom teachers feel underprepared in managing difficult behaviors, particularly since the return to in-person teaching after Covid. Teachers wanted more training on de-escalation tactics, trauma informed practices, and relationship building.
Extra-Curricular Responsibilities - Teachers felt as though their preparation classes did not adequately cover seemingly benign tasks like making phone calls home, how to support in an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meeting, or equitable grading.
Teacher as Designer - Respondents suggest teacher preparation programs give students more opportunities to develop curriculum, create lessons, design assessments and practice implementation.
Life-Work Balance - Teachers felt that their preparation programs should have done more to prepare them for the stress of their job, including providing classes on burnout prevention, compassion fatigue, setting boundaries, and managing stress.

Significance. This study uplifts the voices of in-service teachers and their recommendations for improving teacher preparation. Teacher educators and preparation programs across the nation can utilize these recommendations for creating more holistic, culturally responsive learning environments that will attend to the future needs of teachers.

Authors

• Kai Monet Mathews, University of California - Los Angeles

• Cathy Balfe, University of California - Los Angeles

• Erika Yagi, University of California - Los Angeles

• Hui Huang, University of California - Los Angeles