Towards a knowledge base for the preparation of urban and inner-city teachers: A social justice approach.

摘要

"Towards a knowledge base for the preparation of urban and inner-city teachers: A social justice approach" was a study founded on the premise that such a knowledge base could be articulated and taught, and that concerns for social justice should be at its core. The primary research question for this study was: What do teachers need to know, and be able to do, in order to be effective in urban and inner-city settings? In addition, there were three underlying sub-questions: Is teaching in cities different than teaching in suburban or rural areas? Should teacher education programs be contextualized? and Is the knowledge base for urban and inner-city teaching distinct?.;Praxis research is the broad research program within which the study is situated and the research design can best be described as interpretive case study. The collective knowledge of the participants related to the preparation of teachers for the children in their communities was the unit of analysis for the purpose of theory building. In an effort to conceptualize a social justice approach to teacher preparation, multiple social justice theories and key themes found in the work of Michel Foucault, Stuart Hall, Nancy Fraser and Iris Marion Young were explored, resulting in a theoretical framework that identifies social justice as representation and recognition of difference.;Data were collected from fifty-two individuals who live and work within urban and inner-city communities in Southern Ontario in Canada, and Western New York in the United States. Participants included school administrators, pre- and in-service teachers, paraeducators, parents and community agency workers. Their knowledge, ideas, opinions and beliefs about teaching students from primarily low socio-economic status groups with diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds are represented in the findings.;This dissertation articulates the types of knowledge, skill and teacher characteristics that a social justice approach to teacher preparation could help develop in teacher candidates, and by extension, makes recommendations for how teacher training and the work of teacher educators might be changed to support the learning process.