Factors Influencing Teacher Candidates' Participation in a Paid Field Experience with Urban Students

This study reports problems faced by urban schools as well as teacher education's attempts to remedy these problems, and explores one college's effort to understand the complexities of teacher candidates' decision to work in urban schools. A paid field experience in an urban school district allowed teacher candidates to explore their perceptions of urban schools based on their previous experiences, or lack thereof, and their willingness to work in urban settings. Through the program called Summer in the City (SITC), which was funded by a grant from the New York State Department of Education to an urban school district and was implemented at the end of the college's spring 2005 semester (May to June), this study explores whether there was a difference between SITC and non-SITC teacher candidates in (a) the number of hours spent in urban practica settings before the SITC program; (b) their ratings of previous urban field experiences; (c) their willingness to teach in an urban setting; and (d) the demographics of race/ethnicity, home environment locale, and school locale. It also examines the reasons that influenced the candidates' decision whether or not to participate? Survey data revealed that a possible contributing factor for participation seemed to be related to the number of hours the candidates had spent in previous field placements. Candidates who were involved in SITC had completed more hours of experience in urban schools than their non-SITC counterparts at the time of their initial application. The difference in ratings of previous urban field experiences between SITC and non-SITC candidates were non-significant. The significant differences between the two groups in their willingness to teach in urban schools upon graduation suggests that the amount of urban field experience is a contributing factor influencing participation in additional urban field experiences and candidates' subsequent consideration of employment in urban schools. The comparison of the demographics of the two groups revealed that while the candidates did not differ in the location of their P-12 schooling, they did differ in the location of their homes in that significantly more SITC participants grew up in urban areas. When asked to share the factors that influenced their decision to participate or not participate in the SITC program, many candidates claimed it was their desire for additional experiences in urban schools and based on their satisfaction with past experiences in these schools. (Contains 8 tables.)