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Academy for Teacher Excellence: Recruiting Latino Teachers and Fostering Cultural Teaching Efficacy in all TeachersDr. Belinda Bustos Flores, Ellen Riojas Clark. While the student population is increasingly diverse, the teacher population continues to be predominately white. Moreover, the number of minorities entering into the teaching profession continues to be low for many reasons: increased tuition costs, lack of academic preparation, and wider career options.
As the call for accountability and the ever-changing student population increases, higher education institutions must re-examine its mechanisms for recruiting and preparing teachers. Additionally, collaborative partnerships with community colleges are key in this effort. To address these issues, the Academy for Teacher Excellence is presented as a model for increasing the number of Latino students pursuing teacher certification and for preparing all teachers for linguistically and culturally diverse populations. To address critical teaching shortage areas, Teacher Academy freshman are guided and supported in their teaching choice: bilingual education, special education, and math and science. The development of effective teachers includes academic and content knowledge, and cultural efficacy. However, Teacher Academy candidates are also provided psychosocial support through specific activities that allow for exploration of professional dispositions, such as ethnic and teacher identity and teaching-efficacy. In addition to tutoring and instructional support, candidates meet periodically to participate in advising, freshman seminars, cultural events, speaker series, and socializing. The Teacher Academy ensures that teacher candidates are being well prepared for diverse communities by building four competencies: (1) Academic and Content Knowledge, (2) Cultural Knowledge, (3) Heuristic Knowledge, and (4) Theoretical and Pedagogical Knowledge. A description of these competencies and sample activities will be provided at the session. Presenters Dr. Belinda Bustos Flores
(United States)
Assistant Professor Department of Interdisiciplinary Studies and Curriculum and Instruction College of Education and Human Development Univeristy of Texas at San Antonio Belinda Bustos Flores completed her Ph.D. at The University of Texas at Austin in Curriculum and Instruction with specializations in Multilingual Studies and Educational Psychology. Her research interests and publications within teacher education include self-concept, ethnic identity, efficacy, beliefs, and implications of high-stakes testing on teacher candidates.
Ellen Riojas Clark
(United States)
Presenter 2.:Ellen Riojas Clark
University of Texas at San Antonio Country: USA Email: eclark@utsa Phone: 210-458-5575 Attending: Yes or No [ Yes ]
Keywords
(30 min. Conference Paper,
English)
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