Preparing Preservice Teachers for Urban Classrooms

Teacher educationalists often struggle with multifaceted and increasingly complex issues surrounding preparing majority (White) teachers to work effectively with minority (non-White) students, families, and communities. Novice teachers entering the workforce need to be culturally responsive. What are the benefits to students, communities, and universities when academic service-learning (AS-L) is a course component? How does AS-L impact the personal intellectual growth of preservice teachers? This study examined the dispositions of 177 preservice teachers engaged in literacy and multicultural education courses with AS-L components. The investigation has suggested that AS-L components improved and strengthened teacher education courses in terms of adequately preparing preservice teachers to teach successfully in urban environments. As a result, preservice teachers ’ dispositions an