program in a school district engaged in a major school reform effort. The efforts include
the recruitment and retention of minority group members into the teaching profession.
D. Relevance: This paper describes how both qualitative and quantitative data were used
to design and evaluate the teacher preparation and professional development models. The
data were also used to identify successful instructional and managerial practices in the
culturally diverse classroom.
E. Implication for Action: This project indicates that teacher education needs to
prepare pre-service and in-service teachers for the reality of “who’s coming to school.”
Contextual knowledge and practice leads to more effective instructional practices.
Schools and teacher preparation programs need to collaborate on designing experiences
to prepare teachers to teach all students and to work in schools that are engaged in school
reform efforts. Minority teacher education candidates and in-service teachers need
mentoring and support to be successful in the classroom.
Section II: Outcomes and Methods
A. Learner/participant Outcomes: The participants will be able to describe the
relationship between school reform and teacher education. They will be exposed
to innovative approaches to recruiting and retaining minority group members to
the teaching profession in a multicultural environment. Participants will see data
that indicate the increased academic achievement in district schools that have
participated in the collaboration. They will hear the experiences of teachers and
administrators who have engaged in a creative approach to field placements that
prepare teachers to be clearly outstanding practitioners.
B. Methods: The participants will be asked to design a rubric for creating potentially
effective field experiences for culturally diverse school settings and culturally
diverse teacher candidates.
Convention