Suburban Students Become Urban Teachers: Are They Prepared?

Through this book Dr. Allison Novick-Occhipinti sought to explore how pre-service education teachers enrolled in a one-year Master of Arts teacher education certification program believed the program had impacted and shaped their attitudes and pedagogy. The book is meant to identify the concerns and attitudes of pre-service teachers in an urban city. It attempts to ascertain how these particular students thought the coursework and field experiences appropriately prepared them for an urban, diverse classroom. During her research two major themes emerged. One was that the participants initial perceptions of the inner city and the urban environment were shaped by where they planned to teach and an awareness of their own backgrounds and capacities. Second, the experiences the participants encountered in their courses and field assignments enabled them to better understand the challenges and complexities of teaching children of diverse socio- economic and cultural backgrounds. The most important question explored throughout the book was whether these once suburban students were ready, and willing, to become urban teachers.