The Need for Strong Equity: Investigating How Institutional Dynamics Drive Equity Efforts in Teacher Education Programs at Minority Serving Institutions

Lillie Ko-Wong

Continued concern persists that teacher education programs as a whole might not operate in an equitable manner, such as an inadequate preparation for diverse classrooms, lack of diversity in candidates and faculty, and resource disparities. Minority-serving institutions (MSIs) offer a promising intervention as they enroll and graduate more teachers of color than majority White institutions. However, there is still much we do not understand about the institutional context of MSIs and how they might contribute to greater diversity and equity in teacher education programs. In response, this multiple site case study investigates the institutional dynamics that drive programmatic equity efforts at teacher education programs at MSIs. By critically examining these dynamics, this study aims to shed light on strategies and practices that hold the potential to create more inclusive and effective teacher education programs. Utilizing interviews, observations, document analysis and physical trace evidence, this multiple case study of teacher education programs at MSIs examines the ways that institutional elements impact programmatic equity efforts in teacher education. This project focuses on enrollment-based MSIs, such as AANAPISI and HSIs, in the context of California. This study is guided by a conceptual framework that integrates institutional theory, racialized organization theory, and strong equity. Teacher education programs play a crucial role in educating the next generation of teachers and MSIs are poised to support larger numbers of students of color. I hope that a deeper understanding of these dynamics will inform research and interventions for institutional contexts and teacher education programs to enact strong equity that ultimately supports minoritized students.

About Lillie Ko-Wong

Lillie Ko-Wong (She/Her) is a Ph.D candidate in the Transforming Education in Diverse Societies program at the University of California, San Diego. Her research interests broadly focus on racial equity in teacher education. As a first-generation immigrant and former teacher, her research is rooted in her experiences in education and determination to examine and dismantle systemic structures that perpetuate racial hegemonic norms within teacher education. Her dissertation examines the institutional dynamics that drive programmatic equity efforts in teacher education programs at minority-serving institutions. By critically examining these dynamics, this study aims to shed light on strategies and practices that hold the potential to create more inclusive and effective teacher education programs. Prior to her doctoral studies, she received her M.A in Education at the California State University, Sacramento, and B.A from the University of California, Davis. She also worked as a middle school history teacher at a Title I school in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a researcher, she hopes to resist normative systemic inequities in education. Her experiences in these systems brought a conviction that inequities must be analyzed systemically, as the responsibility for change is often placed on individual students and teachers.