[DOWNLOAD] "Guest Editors' Introduction: Diversifying the Teaching Force (Editorial)" by Teacher Education Quarterly ~ eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Guest Editors' Introduction: Diversifying the Teaching Force (Editorial)
- Author : Teacher Education Quarterly
- Release Date : January 22, 2007
- Genre: Education,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 180 KB
Description
This special issue of Teacher Education Quarterly explores how teacher education programs can help to diversify the teaching force, mainly by featuring programs that have done so. It is widely recognized that the demographic gap between students and teachers is large and growing. In 2004, enrollment in U.S. public schools was only a little more than half White (57%), and a little under half students of color (16% African American, 20% Hispanic, 4% Asian/Pacific Islander, 1% American Indian/Alaskan Native, and 2% "other"); 19% of students spoke a language other than English at home (National Center for Education Statistics, 2006). By contrast, the teaching force was 84% White, 8% African American, 5.5% Hispanic, 1.5% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 1% American Indian/Alaskan Native (National Center for Education Statistics, 2003). Early career teachers are a bit more diverse than the teaching profession as a whole (78% White, 22% of color), with teachers of color concentrated in urban schools (Shen, Wegenky, & Cooley, 2003). We view this demographic gap not as a permanent natural condition, but rather as a social creation that has historical roots, and that can be changed. Ironically, for example, when schools were segregated prior to the Civil Rights movement, African American students were taught mainly by African American teachers. Beginning in the 1960s, while desegregation was intended to make schools more equitable and responsive to communities of color, because Whites perceived Black schools and teachers as inferior, numerous Black schools were closed and almost 40,000 Black teachers and administrators lost their positions (Milner & Howard, 2004). Rather than re-working desegregated schools around principles of equity and multiculturalism, generally White educators maintained institutionalized schooling processes that continued to benefit Whites more than communities of color. The production of teachers today reflects continued institutionalized White privilege.