The Urban Teacher Residency Program: A Recursive Process to Develop Professional Dispositions, Knowledge, and Skills of Candidates to Teach Diverse Students

To be prepared to teach in an urban setting, preservice teachers must exit their teacher preparation program with a professional disposition toward equity and social justice as well as the knowledge and skills required to meet the needs of all students in their classroom. The National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) requires under Standard 4-Diversity that accredited institutions of higher education train, equip, and assess preservice candidates with regard to their ability to address diversity in their classrooms; and ensure that preservice candidates encounter diverse student populations as they prepare to teach. In addition, preparing teachers for the challenges of urban schools requires candidates dedicated to self-examination and reflection on practice to assure comfort in the setting and the flexibility necessary for adjustment in the implementation of expected teaching and learning outcomes. Many preservice candidates preparing to teach in urban schools will meet students from ethnic, racial, linguistic, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds that are different from their own. It is central that teacher preparation programs provide opportunities for urban teacher candidates to explore, develop, and maintain dispositions and beliefs that allow them to instruct students in a manner that respects each child's unique characteristics while promoting the highest standard of learning possible. This article describes how the George Washington University (GWU) Graduate School of Education and Human Development Urban Teacher Residency Program meets NCATE Standards 4a and 4d through a program design that includes a recursive exploration of teacher beliefs, knowledge, and effective practice for diverse student populations. NCATE Standard 4a relates to the design, implementation, and evaluation of curriculum and experiences in teacher preparation programs. It requires that teacher candidates participate in coursework and clinical settings that promote diversity and inclusion of all students. NCATE Standard 4d requires teacher candidates to participate in a range of clinical experiences that allows them to work with students from diverse backgrounds. By participating in clinical settings with students from backgrounds different from than their own, candidates are able to confront their own beliefs about diversity and apply learning from coursework in diversity. They work to improve student learning in a variety of contexts with a variety of students and thereby improve their effectiveness as teachers. This process is facilitated and assessed by frequent feedback from program supervisors and peers. (Contains 1 figure, 2 tables and 6 endnotes.)