Teacher Education for High Poverty Schools

There are books on poverty and education, on teacher education and on pedagogy. This book brings together researchers from these and related areas to discuss the very timely issue of preparing teachers for high-poverty contexts. In a world where neoliberal governance looks to stripped-down teacher education and teacher standards are very generic, programs which focus on teacher education specifically in high poverty contexts are sorely needed. Researchers here focus on contexts in the US, Australia, South Africa, Canada, the UK, Chile, to discuss what is in effect the urgency of preparing teachers for high-poverty contexts. It is a very timely and very necessary collection. Professor Wayne Sawyer, University of Western Sydney, Penrith, Australia

This volume captures the innovative, theory-based, and grounded work being done by established scholars who are interrogating how teacher education can prepare teachers to work in challenging and diverse high-poverty settings.This volume captures the innovative, theory-based, and grounded work being done by established scholars who are interrogating how teacher education can prepare teachers to work in challenging and diverse high-poverty settings. It offers articles from the US, Australia, Canada, the UK and Chile by some of the most significant scholars in the field. Internationally, research suggests that effective teachers for high poverty schools require deep theoretical understanding as well as the capacity to function across three well-substantiated areas: deep content knowledge, well-tuned pedagogical skills, and demonstrated attributes that prove their understanding and commitment to social justice. Schools in low socioeconomic communities need quality teachers most, however, they are often staffed by the least experienced and least prepared teachers. The chapters in this volume examine how pre-service teachers are taught to understand the social contexts of education. Drawing on the individual expertise of the authors, the topics covered include unpacking poverty for pre-service teachers, issues related to urban schooling as well as remote and regional area schooling.