A case study of a career in education that began with "Teach for America"

• Published in: Teaching education (Columbia, S.C.) Vol. 22; no. 1; pp. 15 - 38
• Main Author: Tellez, Kip
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Brisbane Routledge 01-03-2011; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Alternative Teacher Certification; Beginning Teachers; Career Development; Case Studies; Disadvantaged; Learning; Low Income; Mathematics Instruction; Middle Schools; Multicultural Education; Parent Teacher Cooperation; Preservice Teacher Education; Preservice Teachers; Professional development; Role of Education; Second Language Instruction; Teacher Attitudes; Teacher education; teacher education curriculum; teacher education policy; Teacher Education Programs; Teacher Recruitment; teacher socialization; Teacher Student Relationship; Teaching
• ISSN: 1047-6210; 1470-1286
• DOI: 10.1080/10476210.2010.541238

In this article I share the results of a seven-year case study of an educator who began his career without formal preservice teacher education, as a participant in Teach for America. Steven (a pseudonym) began teaching mathematics in an urban middle school, later teaching social studies to English language learners, and is currently a principal of an urban charter school. Using a narrative/biographical research method, I have documented how Steven combined his personal resources, the confidence he gained from participating in Teach for America, and, because he began taking professional coursework in his second year of teaching, his emerging understanding of the foundations of teaching and learning (i.e. what he learned at the university) to form the educator he has become. His growth in understanding the culture of his students is a particularly compelling part of his story. Implications for contemporary teacher education are discussed, including the role of multicultural education courses and why customized teacher education programs should become more commonplace.