Voices in the Classroom: Case Studies of Minority Teacher Candidates

Abstract

A critical problem facing educators today is the inability of our teacher education system to produce substantial numbers of teachers from racial, ethnic, and language minority groups. Despite general agreement that increased numbers of minority teachers would be beneficial, there is little research on what minority teachers bring to the teaching profession and how teacher education programs influence these Teachers' professional development. The goals of this study were to document the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs that minority students bring to classrooms and to investigate how a teacher education program influenced the professional development of these teachers. Implications for recruitment, placement, and professional development of minority educators are discussed.