Examining Effective Teachers' Academic Optimism and Instructional Practices in Full-Service Community Schools

• In Event: Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: Teaching Contexts and Teacher Agency: Examinations of the Contextual Factors That Impact Teacher Learning and Practice

Abstract

Full-service community schools are broadly viewed as an approach to address the barriers to educational success faced by low-income children and families. Over the last two decades, most of the research on full-service community schools has focused on their design, implementation, and benefits. The role of teachers in advancing students’ learning within these schools, however, has been given scant attention despite research underscoring the importance of teacher and instructional quality for low-income and ethnically diverse children’s academic success. The proposed paper addresses this gap. It draws from research on full-service community schools; teacher effectiveness; and academic optimism to examine the attitudes, beliefs, and instructional practices of nine effective teachers within three urban full-service community schools in the eastern United States.

Authors

• Mavis G. Sanders, University of Maryland - Baltimore County

• Claudia Lucia Galindo, University of Maryland - Baltimore County

• Keisha McIntosh Allen, University of Maryland - Baltimore County