This dissertation study explores a voluntary preservice teacher led club, LEARN (pseudonym) focused on urban education. The club meetings varied consisting of approximately 10-15 Preservice Teacher (PST) members each session. Members were predominantly White newcomer and oldcomer participants that met regularly (twice a month) to engage in various…

In this manuscript, we recognize that young children learn stories that propagate white supremacist narratives through selective traditions of early childhood curriculum. The role of early childhood teachers, therefore, is to critically examine curriculum for biases, omissions, and distortions, as well as to rewrite curriculum to tell accurate…

Research on urban teacher education (UTE) programs have studied teacher candidates' (TCs) perceptions of urban communities and schooling, but have provided limited insights on how ideologies about dis/ability are entangled with race and other markers of difference, shaping TCs' learning about urban education. In this paper, we present an analysis…

Purpose: This paper reports the findings of a study examining the impact of one teacher preparation program on the current practices of its graduates and documents the ways the program focused on equity and social justice in preparing educators who see themselves as agents for transforming schools. This paper aims to identify program elements that…

Policymakers and teacher educators have long discussed whether specialised preparation of teachers who work in rural areas is necessary. The objective of this research is to learn more about teacher educators' perspectives on the efficacy of urban-based teacher education in preparing elementary school teachers for rural contexts. The research was…

I examine how three elementary-level preservice teachers of Color cultivated their asset-, equity-, and justice-oriented pedagogical learning and identities through multilayered community-engaged tasks. Systemic and structured support from multiple stakeholders played a critical role in helping the preservice teachers of Color to promote and…

The purpose of this convergent mixed-methods study was to understand the extent to which inclusive practices were explicit in teacher residency curricula and the potential effects of four different urban teacher residency (UTR) programs on perceptions of teacher residents' self-efficacy for implementing inclusive practices in the general education…

This academic year marks the tenth anniversary of the establishment of a five-year (bachelors and masters) urban teacher education program at a small, state institution in the northeast. This program was founded on the principles of social justice and decolonization "with" and "through" critical scholars such as Freire (1996),…

In this collaborative autoethnography, written by multiple stakeholders involved in a teacher residency program, we address the complexities of preparing and supporting social justice-oriented teachers. We identify three tensions faced in the design and (re)development of the teacher preparation program. These tensions include preparing teachers…

We share findings from a qualitative study of the tensions experienced as facilitators of an urban education fellowship program in which we brought preservice teachers into activist educator communities. We analyzed field notes, analytic memos, artifacts, and transcripts from group meetings, interviews, and video blogs. Findings revealed four…

This article presents the results of a mixed-methods study that examined how state policy requiring the use of high-stakes teacher performance assessments (TPAs) affected candidates enrolled in urban teacher preparation programs in the Midwest. The data reveal that despite institutional pass rates above the national average, the edTPA process…

While it is nationally recognized that there is a high need for teachers, particularly those of diverse backgrounds and with ESL/bilingual certifications, barriers to certification continue to exist for undocumented individuals. Within the state of New Jersey, these barriers mirror the national limitations. Although New Jersey has made efforts to…

Available evidence suggests that inequities exist in the distribution of qualified teachers within high-poverty urban schools, and further, that such inequities adversely affect student achievement in these schools. This paper highlights the role of teacher education in addressing this challenge by describing the findings of a study of the…

In efforts to better prepare students for a technology-driven workforce, many states and districts have pushed for clustered teaching of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in K-12 schools, yet science and mathematics remain the cornerstones upon which broader opportunities in STEM education are built. Teachers serve as…

I argue in this article that a close examination of preservice teachers' Black history knowledge is needed to possibly improve curricular and instructional approaches of Black education. Seven preservice teachers were studied and asked to write Black history narratives to ascertain how they interpreted Black history. I analyzed these responses…