Systemic Approaches to Supporting Diverse Educators in a College of Education

• In Event: Teachers in Crisis, Teaching in Crisis: Unpacking Individual and Systemic Teacher Deprofessionalization and Dehumanization

Abstract

Objectives
While students of color constitute a majority of Washington state’s K-12 student population (Bazzazz, 2023), only 12.76% of teachers statewide identified as teachers of color (TOCs) in the 2020-21 academic year (Washington State Professional Standards Education Board, 2021). This paper examines systemic efforts across an urban school district - research university college of education partnership to diversify the educator workforce in the state and provide supports for TOCs in urban public school settings.

Perspective(s)
A focus on equity in teacher education programs, including structural, procedural, and practical disruption of inequities in addition to culturally responsive curricular frameworks, are key to addressing inequities within teacher education programs (Burke & Whitty, 2018; Cochran-Smith et al. 2016). This explicit focus on equity must include and be extended beyond the programmatic level, however, to include policy advocacy centered around addressing inequities in program access, representation and justice-oriented teacher education (Cochran-Smith, 2020). Models that consider teachers’ evolving needs over time and support their experiences in the field have been posited ways to encourage retention in hard-to-staff schools (Tran & Smith, 2020) as have models that center creating nurturing environments that recognize the challenges of under-resourced sites, foster relationships of support, and value teachers (Arthur & Bradley, 2023).

Methods & Data
This case study draws from qualitative and quantitative survey data collected as part of an ongoing initiative to support the diversification of the educator workforce through a comprehensive programmatic and regional approach to: diversify teacher recruitment efforts, support candidates through teacher education and certification programs, and retain diverse educators through the induction period of teaching.

Results & Considerations
Data indicate the importance of a comprehensive, adaptive approach to supporting prospective and new TOCs to support their entry and the sustainability of their work, in a large, urban school district. Three types of support were particularly important to participating teachers:
● Funding: Cost of full-time initial teacher preparation was prohibitive for many prospective TOCs. A scholarship-for-commitment model allowed for the case study institution to recruit a strong cohort of candidates of color to serve local communities and concomitantly take an initial step towards reducing early career teacher attrition, supporting our local districts at sites which are under-resourced.
● Navigational capital: Prospective TOCs were supported by specially dedicated staff and support initiatives from recruitment, through teacher preparation and into the field which allowed them to navigate various institutional systems normed on whiteness.
● Ongoing support emphasizing professionalism: After entering the field, many TOCs participated in ongoing communities of practice, designed to support BIPOC teachers and teachers committed to implementing justice-centered practices in classrooms. These learning communities provided spaces of belonging and solidarity to sustain TOCs despite challenging working conditions.

Significance
The focal program provides an example of systemic efforts to transform the educator workforce into, through, and beyond teacher education through partnership and a multi-pronged approach that supports, values, and listens to TCOCs and TOCs, prioritizing their needs at key points in their emergent careers.

Authors

• Stacey E. Hardin, University of Washington

• Andrea Carreno Cortez, University of Washington

• Betina Hsieh, University of Washington