Within higher education there are dynamic constructs surrounding discussions on race, gender and bias. Courses detailing inclusive pedagogy and university restructuring for diversity initiatives are at the forefront of higher education administration strategic planning. By drilling down into educator preparation programs, it is often assumed that the notion of conversations about diversity and teaching cultural awareness has long been a standard of practice. Solid educator preparation programs tout cultural awareness and assist in preparing teachers to effectively teach and serve in diverse school settings. This preparation allows for new teachers to feel secure in methods to meet the needs of learners through content and personal connection. This chapter will identify the strengths of a pre-service teacher preparation program designed to implement cultural conversation early in the baccalaureate program. The program is centered around learning strategies, techniques and pedagogical practices based on theoretical implications and class discourse relating to all areas of diversity.

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This chapter presents an overview and a conceptual approach of culturally relevant mentoring at an institution of higher learning from the lens of the authors. There are various types of mentoring approaches that demonstrate the opportunity for institutional leaders to align their strategic initiatives with the academic and career success of dissertators, postdoctoral researchers, and early career faculty. This work places a focus on culturally relevant mentoring as a tactical approach for creating strategic dialogue of critical consciousness to produce core values, institutional commitments, and strategic plans that reflect the culture of all stakeholders. Culturally relevant mentoring promotes active acknowledgement of cultural contributions, inclusive social context, and equitable and just strategies for institutional climate change that will differentiate an institution from its peers in higher education.

Research literature in public education often categorizes self-efficacy in order for practitioners of K-12 academic settings to understand how to relate to students. They often view self-efficacy in students' perception, intrinsic motivation and behavior in academic settings. This chapter utilizes the research literature from public education as a bridge to discover the importance of self-actualization of efficacy in developing reading specialists. Too often, students in public education who have been referred to a reading specialist due to struggles with reading, low academic performance or a high dropout risk are missing a level of self-efficacy. In that same context, the authors in this study looked to a specific program which prepares teachers of those students and incorporated rigorous self-efficacy scales to inform and shape practice. This chapter asserts that teachers are paramount in the successful development of an at-risk learner. This chapter provides empirical research centered around two core programs, undergraduate and graduate with specialization in urban education and reading.