TRANSFORMING TEACHER PREP INSTITUTIONS TO DEVELOP CULTURALLY LITERATE EDUCATORS Jennifer L. Fong EDLS 7010 BGSU “Your Neighbors Speak Really Good English!”

“ Frames” of Individuality On each of the five cards, write one characteristic that you use in identifying yourself to others. Mom White-Female Teacher Non-Conformist Irish-American

What do you think? Which is the boy, which is the girl?

How Do Our Individual “frames” Contribute To Our Perceptions? Which of your five “frames” influenced your decision? How could you eliminate using these “frames” in making decisions?

Statement of the Problem Equitable Education or Not? Equality in education has long been a topic of controversy, ethical debate and political activism. Schools are more segregated today than at any other time since Brown (Nieto, 2006). This is especially true in light of today’s rapidly changing demographics. further obstacles: rapid attrition rate of new teachers, especially in urban public schools; an escalating achievement gap between majority and minority student populations; increasing “standardization” of schools (Nieto, 2006, p. 459). educators and leaders entering these diverse classrooms must be prepared to teach and lead culturally-responsive schools (Villegas & Lucas, 2002).

How do Teach Prep Institutions Prepare Culturally Literate Teachers? Infusing the curriculum with opportunities to engage in self-analysis of biases, values and beliefs about diversity issues is critical (Nieto, 2006). Provide numerous field experiences in diverse school settings and recruiting a more diverse faculty, and student body (Nieto, 2006). Guided critical self-reflection is necessary to challenge prevailing sociopolitical views, beliefs and values that many teachers hold and schools promote (Terwilliger, 2003). Educating pre-service teachers in constructivist views of (Villegas & Lucas, 2002).

Why Is This So Difficult? For most schools, a reform entailing multicultural education is not just a change in curriculum or operations, but a paradigm shift in thinking and in the culture of the school (Cooper, 2009). One reason that transformative change is difficult is because it threatens the power of the dominant group who then resist the changes (Jay, 2003). An organization is predisposed to resist change efforts that do not align with an organization’s set of norms or culture (Connor, Lake and Stackman,2003). It is only when leaders understand the culture of an organization including both the implicit and explicit culture, that they can be successful in their efforts to implement change processes (Schlechty,2005).

ALICIA KEYS, 2010 “ And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight and closed in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to bloom. This is the element of freedom.”

References Cooper, C.W. (2009). Performing cultural work in demographically changing schools: Implications for expanding transformative leadership frameworks. Educational Administration Quarterly, 45(5), doi: / X Connor, P.E., Lake, L.K., & Stackman, R.W. (2003). Managing organizational change (3rd ed.). Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers. Jay, M. (2003). Critical race theory, multicultural education and the hidden curriculum of hegemony. Multicultural Perspectives, 5(4), 3-9. Katsarou, E. (2009). Reading African-American literature to understand the world: critical race praxis in teacher preparation. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 12(2), doi: / Kouzes, J.M., & Posner, B.Z. (2007). The leadership challenge (4th ed.). SanFrancisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Nieto, S. (2006). Solidarity, courage and heart: What teacher educators can learn from a new generation of teachers. Intercultural Education. 17(5), doi: /

References Schlechty, P.C. (2005). Creating great schools: Six critical systems at the heart of educational innovation. SanFrancisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Terwilliger, C. (2010). Mapping stories: Taking detours to challenge whiteness. Retrieved from: Villegas, A.M., & Lucas, T. (2002). Preparing culturally responsive teachers: Rethinking the curriculum. Journal of Teacher Education. 53(1), doi: /