Preparing Teachers of Color in the Alternative Education System

• In Event: The Margins of Neoliberal Reform: Envisioning Critical Race Praxis Along the Borders of K–12 Education

Abstract

Objective
Recent research on teacher preparation has centered on the effectiveness of teacher education programs or the new growing demands that pre-service teachers must fulfill to enter the classroom. There is limited research that informs about the preparation that teachers of color receive in order to teach in the field of alternative education. There are currently over 520 alternative schools in California (Malagon, 2010, pg. 61) yet, the field of alternative education is an educational system that is often ignored by researchers and receives limited attention from teacher education programs across the United States. There are currently over 70,000 students that attend a type of alternative school (Perez & Johnson, 2008). In California, the number of alternative schools is rapidly increasing. This paper will investigate how teacher education programs prepare teachers of color to teach in the alternative education system. Through a collection of interviews of teachers in alternative school settings, this paper will examine emerging themes found in the experiences of teachers of colors as they prepare to teach in alternative settings. This paper will conclude by explaining the significance in further research in the preparation of teachers in alternative education and how new findings can contribute to the academic success of students in alternative school settings.

Author

• Nallely Arteaga, University of California - Riverside