Preparing and Retaining Urban Educators: Paths and Perspectives of Mid-Career Program Graduates

• In Event: 75.041 - MTCC Roundtable Session 33
  In Roundtable Session: 75.041-5 - Recruiting, Preparing, and Retaining Teachers to Work in Diverse Communities and Contexts

Abstract

Often high-poverty urban schools are challenged in recruiting and retaining an adequate supply of highly-qualified teachers (Burstein, Czech, Kretschmer, Lombardi, & Smith, 2009; Truscott & Truscott, 2005). This roundtable discussion will present a study of the graduates of an urban teacher education program who completed their program between 2008 and 2012. Using the framework described by Freedman and Appleman (2009), the career paths of 62 UTEP and non-UTEP program completers were compared, as were their perceptions regarding the efficacy of their teacher education programs in preparing them for urban teaching careers. The framework of urban teaching competencies that undergirds one of the programs will be discussed (Voltz, Collins, Patterson, & Sims, 2008).

Authors

• Deborah L. Voltz, The University of Alabama - Birmingham

• Michele Jean Sims, The University of Alabama - Birmingham

• Tondra L. Loder-Jackson, The University of Alabama - Birmingham

• Tonya B. Perry, The University of Alabama - Birmingham