Bridging Worlds: Changes in Personal and Professional Identities of Pre-Service Urban Teachers

Autor/inn/en	Merseth, Katherine K.; Sommer, Julia; Dickstein, Shari
Titel	Bridging Worlds: Changes in Personal and Professional Identities of Pre-Service Urban Teachers
Quelle	In: Teacher Education Quarterly, 35 (2008) 3, S.89-108 (20 Seiten) PDF als Volltext (1); PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei (2) Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0737-5328
Schlagwörter	Preservice Teacher Education; Graduate Students; Urban Teaching; Teacher Education Programs; Learning Processes; Student Motivation; Urban Schools; Practicums; Self Concept; Teacher Role; Concept Formation; Individual Development; Teaching (Occupation); Knowledge Base for Teaching; Grounded Theory; Content Analysis; Portfolio Assessment; Essays; Secondary Education + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Lehramtsstudiengang; Lehrerausbildung; Graduate Study; Student; Students; Aufbaustudium; Graduiertenstudium; Hauptstudium; Studentin; Urban education; Stadtteilbezogenes Lernen; Learning process; Lernprozess; Schulische Motivation; Urban area; Urban areas; School; Schools; Stadtregion; Stadt; Schule; Practicum; Praktikum; Praktika; Selbstkonzept; Lehrerrolle; Concept learning; Begriffsbildung; Individuelle Entwicklung; Teaching; Lehrberuf; Teaching theory; Theory of teaching; Unterrichtstheorie; Inhaltsanalyse; Portfoliobeurteilung; Essay; Aufsatzunterricht; Sekundarbereich
Abstract	This article explores the motives and evolving identities of one group of graduate students enrolled in a teacher education program at an Ivy League university, who made the choice to teach in urban classrooms. The authors examine the perspectives these candidates give to the process of learning to teach and how their identities are tempered, challenged, and sometimes strengthened by a 12-week urban practicum. In this work, the authors give voice to these pre-service teachers in order to gain deeper insight into how they view what it means to teach in an urban public school, a phenomenon Haberman has referred to as "an extraordinary life experience". The subjects of this study offer instructive data for scholars precisely because these individuals seemingly have a plethora of career options from which to choose. Prior levels of education and academic achievement as well as other professional experiences qualify them for better paying and socially perceived higher status careers. Their choice--to invest 11 months of full-time study and tens of thousands of dollars in a degree which would allow them to pursue a career often viewed as challenging--deserves analysis. In this article, the authors present a brief review of the pre-service teacher identity development literature that grounds the study and a summary of the research methods. They then lay out their findings that suggest that the developing professional identities of these subjects are influenced by the personal identities they bring to the learning to teach process and their experiences teaching in urban public schools. Finally, they offer concluding observations regarding implications of the study. (Contains 3 tables and 3 notes.) (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Caddo Gap Press. 3145 Geary Boulevard PMB 275, San Francisco, CA 94118. Tel: 415-666-3012; Fax: 415-666-3552; e-mail: caddogap@aol.com; Web site: http://www.caddogap.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10