Empowering First-Generation Future Educators of Color: Reflections on Their First AERA Annual Meeting Experience

• In Event: Supporting BIPOC Teachers and Teacher Educators

Abstract

This paper highlights an initiative that brought seven diverse teacher education students to the 2024 AERA Annual Meeting in Philadelphia. As U.S. classrooms grow increasingly diverse, yet teacher demographics lag behind, exposure to leading educational researchers and practitioners is crucial. The attendees who were all students of color and primarily first-generation college students gained valuable insights, fostering their educational trajectories and aspirations for graduate studies. Many experienced a conference for the first time, with reflections on a renewed interest in teaching and an enriched understanding of educational research. Students noted the empowerment of seeing relatable educators and researchers of color. This experience inspired the next generation of educators to address the national teacher shortage and increase diverse representation in education.

Authors

• Ian G. Bouie, Stockton University

• Kimberly L. Dickerson, Stockton University

• Taína Altagracia-Paris, Stockton University

• Nana Akosua Adobea Oduro, Stockton University

• Ivanna Joselyn Taveras, Stockton University

• Camryn Wilson, Stockton University