Context as Content in Urban Teacher Education

Abstract

Urban teacher residencies have emerged as an innovation for recruiting, preparing, and retaining teachers for high-need urban schools. Though residencies aim to prepare teachers for specific urban contexts, we know little about how context is conceptualized in the teacher education curriculum or what teachers learn about it. This study finds that participants in one residency in San Francisco came to see context as complex and layered, interrupting stigmas often associated with urban schools. Participants felt well prepared to teach in particular high-need settings, but their knowledge and skills did not necessarily transfer to other urban settings in the same city.

Teacher preparation for urban teaching: a multiple case study of three primary teacher education programmes

“…In the scientific literature, several researchers have pointed to the importance of context-specific teacher education, in order to understand how the social and political contexts of schools influence both students and teachers' opportunities in urban schools (Milner 2012). Other researchers have referred to the risks of preparing teachers for particular schools and contexts, as this may narrow their views of the teaching context generally, and restrict their ability to transfer their expertise to other settings (Williamson, Apedoe, and Thomas 2016). This debate was also reflected in the teacher education institutes that we investigated.…”

“…Matsko and Hammerness 2014) may be more appropriate in this respect. This alternative concept can help with focusing on the importance of teaching future teachers how to disentangle the school context and becoming aware of the fact that what happens in their school and classroom is influenced by this specific context (which is also called developing a context-conscious mindset for (urban) teaching, see Williamson, Apedoe, and Thomas 2016). Therefore, it is important to provide student teachers with opportunities for internships in different (urban) contexts, to give them the tools to disentangle and make use of the context, and to let students share experiences with students from internships in other contexts.…”

Preservice Teachers' Community-Based Field Experiences

“…Field experiences also help preservice teachers develop a broader professional vision and understanding of PK-12 students, schools, and the cultural contexts in which teaching and learning is situated (Zeichner, 2012). These field experiences are of significant importance in urban teacher education, given the multifaceted and interconnected issues which exist in many urban school districts (Zeichner, 2010;Williamson et al, 2016). Moreover, urban districts and students offer teacher education programs and preservice teachers sources of expertise as well as opportunities to more fully understand and collaborate within the communities in which they work and serve (Zeichner et al, 2014;Emdin, 2016).…”

Supporting secondary pre-service teacher identity development as culturally responsive and sustaining teachers

“…In fact, defining what is 'good practice' for preservice teachers remains contested and problematic terrain. Many educationists argue that what is understood to constitute 'good practice' is defined locally, in the specific social, political and cultural contexts of teaching, learning, and education (Bishop & Glynn, 1999;Macfarlane, 2007;Williamson, Apendoe & Thomas, 2016). Therefore, close examination of contextually-situated teacher education programs can help illuminate the complex and nuanced ways that teacher educators construct 'good practice' with respect to culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogy.…”