Preparing Teachers for Urban Schools: The Role of Field Experiences.

Teacher educators continue to address the challenge of preparing teachers for diverse learners (Burstein & Cabello, 1989; Haberman, 1991; McDiarmid & Price, 1993; Pagano, Weiner, Obi, & Swearingen, 1995; Schultz, Neyhart & Reck, 1996; Terrill & Mark, 2000; Wiggins & Follo, 1999; Wolffe, 1996: Zeichner, 1996). Many are confronting the reality that for the foreseeable future, prospective teachers will continue to be predominantly White, middle class females under 25 years of age, while the percentage of students who are minorities and second language learners will continue to increase (Burstein & Cabello, 1989; Gomez, 1996; Schultz et al., 1996; Terrill & Mark, 2000). Of particular concern are "poor children of color" who have traditionally not done well with teachers who differ in ethnicity and social class (Zeichner, 1996). It seems that many teachers and teacher education students have negative attitudes toward urban schools and culturally diverse learners. One recent study found that only 13% of 3000 teachers said they were willing to teach in urban schools (Villegas & Clewell, 1998, as reported by Valli & Rennert-Ariev, 2000). Terrill and Mark (2000) found significant differences in preservice teachers' expectations for students in predominantly White schools versus students in schools with significant numbers of Native Americans and African Americans. Most of the teacher education students in this study had little or no experience in schools with non White populations. Schultz et al. (1996) reported that 80% of the prospective teachers in their survey believed that "urban children" were lower in learning ability than other children or that their ability was limited by such factors as personal attributes or the environment. The subjects in this study were 92% White and 72% had completed none of their K-12 school experience in an urban school. In confronting the disparity between preservice teachers' beliefs and the needs of students in urban schools, researchers cite evidence of teacher education practices that do not work in preparing teachers for diverse learners. Studies of multicultural education reveal a danger in accumulating knowledge about specific cultures that is often cited in the literature. Such knowledge may increase stereotypes and lead teachers to act on it inappropriately--such as using this information as explanations for why certain children can't learn (McDiarmid & Price, 1993; Zeichner, 1996). Haberman (1991) doubts that teacher education programs are capable of producing the needed changes in values, attitudes, and dispositions needed for successful teaching of ethnic and language minority students. He reports a study of students who had 120 hours of field experience in urban schools and then were surveyed on their beliefs regarding diverse learners. Haberman reported that the students' selective perception caused them to see what they were predisposed to see. If they expected to see lack of parent support and students who were deprived, they saw examples to reinforce their expectations. So rather than change the students' values, the students "became more insensitive and hardened in their positions . " (p. 29). Others have also reported negative results of field experiences with diverse learners. Wiggins and Folio (1999), in their evaluation of pre-student teaching field placements in multicultural settings, concluded that such experiences increased their students' ability to teach in diverse settings, but not their desire or commitment to teaching in these settings. In fact they found some evidence that the multicultural experience decreased preservice teachers' inclination to teach in culturally diverse schools. In a study of student teachers, Weiner (1990) reported that most were discouraged from teaching in urban schools after student teaching in an urban school. Other researchers have reported positive effects of field experiences in urban schools on preservice teachers' attitudes and beliefs. …