The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to investigate the lived experiences of practicing teachers, including their origins of mindset related to urban education, and to explore how their preparation for teaching in urban schools enabled them to implement culturally responsive pedagogy in their classrooms. There is ample…

This dissertation focuses on how the MAT program in Earth Science at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH MAT), a one-of-a-kind, museum-based urban teacher residency, conceptualized and enacted the project of learning to teach science for urban school contexts. The AMNH MAT is situated within the two nested contexts. The first context is…

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…

The state of Arkansas adopted ACT 1063 in 2017, which was designed to improve reading achievement for all students. Included in the law was the requirement that "curriculum programs that are supported by the science of reading and based on the instruction that is explicit, systematic, cumulative, and diagnostic be implemented (Division of…

The goal of this study was to examine how educational leaders help to create and support or inhibit culturally sustaining pedagogical practices for Black educators. The study explored the Black teacher experience at one Northern California public school in Oakland, California. I wanted to understand how they were supported or inhibited in the use…

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of urban secondary math and science teachers, administrators, and district personnel regarding the factors that influence secondary math and science teachers with more than five years of teaching experience to remain in urban Title I districts. The participants were interviewed to gain their…

While research suggests that new teachers work to put into practice the pedagogy learned from their preservice preparation programs during their first year of teaching, they often resort to traditional, teacher-centered pedagogies even when prepared to use innovative practices, particularly in urban schools. Relatively little is known, however,…

Given the current crisis in urban education and the frequent calls for urban school reform, a number of colleges and universities have established teacher education programs designed specifically to prepare teachers for work in urban schools. These urban-focused teacher preparation programs seek to provide pre-service teachers with the knowledge,…

Many traditional university-based and alternative route teacher preparation programs have been developed to prepare new teachers to work in urban, high minority, and high-poverty classrooms. There is little literature that documents the outcomes of these programs designed specifically for urban environments or the practices of teachers who…

Marginalized culturally and linguistically diverse students with special needs often struggle after high school. Many special educators are unaware of legal mandates and best practice in postsecondary transition, especially the intricate needs when working this group. The culturally responsive Summary of Performance (CRSOP) training and support…