Teacher identity has been defined in different ways through different methodologies. In this paper, the author uses autobiographical information, based on his life as an urban teacher and teacher educator, to depict his journey, insights and experiences. In doing so, he synthesizes the personal, pedagogical, and political aspects of his identity…

The inability of American colleges and universities to produce teachers for America's urban classrooms has reached epidemic proportions. This article seeks to describe the legal effects of policies and laws designed to create conditions for highly qualified teaching professionals. Issues germane to the topic of urban teacher preparation and…

The society is violent, the urban neighborhoods are violent, and the schools are violent. People who want to teach in urban schools need to recognize the reality of the situation they will enter. Beginning teachers must recognize that preventing violence is an integral part of their legitimate work; the more effective they are at empowering…

Latinos represent the fastest growing population in U.S. schools, and teachers face an increasingly demanding educational context in which to teach. The goal of this article is to present vignettes drawn from classroom observations conducted by preservice teachers in urban areas. Preservice teachers capture the dilemma faced by many teachers who…

A major strand in the current national push to improve secondary education is the movement to scale down schools into smaller, more personalized units, especially for students facing the greatest obstacles to success. Hundreds of small schools and learning communities have cropped up in recent years, famously helped along by the Bill & Melinda…

In this article, the author describes how four seasoned Chicago educators keep their teaching fresh. He learned that none of them do quite the same thing in the classroom twice, and none teaches like the other. They do, however, have one key trait in common: they are self-propelled. Their best source of professional development is not a mandated…

Teachers are trained to be mentors, counselors, and friends to a group of advisees, shepherding them through the term papers and broken hearts of adolescence. Each advisory group of about a dozen students stays together, with the same adviser, until graduation. By creating that kind of culture, with promising indicators that it is paying off…

In the debate about urban school effectiveness and teacher quality, one proposition has emerged as indisputable: The success of urban schools depends heavily on the quality of the teachers who serve the schools and the administrators who support the teachers. Unfortunately, urban school district recruitment policies are often not aligned with…

The 3-mile neighborhood along the boulevard from San Diego State University to the City Heights is one of San Diego's most diverse, with more than 30 languages spoken among its 72,000 residents. It has also developed a reputation as one of the city's most impoverished and crime-ridden. More than a decade ago, as part of an effort to transform City…

The Urban Educator Corps, comprised of urban education school deans and faculty members from thirty-nine public urban research universities, is committed to advancing the quality of urban education, specifically addressing the key issues of teacher quality, student retention and success, and the creation of systemic partnerships. This article…

The deficit paradigm--the assumption that poor student performance or behavior stems from problems with the students or their families that must be "fixed"--has long been deeply embedded in the culture of urban schools, writes Weiner, an expert in urban education. Now deficit thinking is becoming more pervasive in suburban schools, as these…

This article explores the expectations of support for and the experiences of substitute teachers in an urban school division in Saskatchewan. Data were collected in semistructured interviews with seven substitute teachers. The purpose of the study was to explore how substitute teachers frame their professional experiences and construct their roles…

The School of Education at the University of Missouri-Kansas City is addressing the urban teacher retention challenge through its Institute for Urban Education (IUE). IUE focuses on recruiting individuals from underrepresented populations who have a commitment to their urban communities. Its curriculum is distinguished by five features: (1) an…

The revolving door appropriately describes the attrition among beginning teachers. Especially high attrition plagues our urban schools where highly qualified teachers are most crucial. Even though research over 3 decades has provided the basis for intricate induction programs, not all new teachers experience them. Effective mentoring has provided…

Identifies long-standing and pervasive issues related to the preparation of teachers, especially for high-poverty urban schools. Simplistic views of teachers and teacher education prevail, and a second constraining factor is the lack of understanding of the fundamental relationship between the scope and nature of teacher preparation and the…