A Mixed Methods Study of Teacher Education Programs' Role in Fostering Candidates' Equity Dispositions

Shanyce Campbell

Teacher education programs (TEP) have recently received a great deal of criticism with calls for more oversight and accountability to ensure that programs are preparing "high-quality"? teachers. While much debate centers around the best way to measure program quality, there is little consensus on which aspects of TEPs matter. Arguably, a significant indicator of program success is the candidates' preparation to work with diverse learners and in diverse settings. However, TEPs continue to struggle with preparing candidates that are responsive to the assets and needs of students marginalized by the educational system in ways that exclude these students from rich learning opportunities. This study employs a multi-campus, mixed methods comparative case study design to (1) better understand how TEPs foster equity dispositions among teacher candidates; (2) investigate whether there are differences in teacher candidates' equity disposition based on the TEPs orientation towards equity; and (3) contribute to the larger methodological conversation regarding the need for rigorous methods that account for the complexities in designing equity-centered teacher education programs. Findings from this study will provide greater insight into how educators and policymakers can create conditions that foster and sustain candidates' equity-orientations once they become in-service teachers.

About Shanyce Campbell

Shanyce L. Campbell is an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Education. Her research focuses on understanding how policies and practices influence access to quality learning opportunities for students marginalized by the educational system. Employing quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods, she explores three institutional factors associated with advancing marginalized students? opportunities to learn ? instructional quality, school-community partnerships, and curriculum. Dr. Campbell?s work has appeared in American Educational Research Journal, Educational Researcher, and Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. In 2019, she received the Palmer O. Johnson Memorial Award for the most outstanding article appearing in an American Educational Research Association?s (AERA)-sponsored journal. Dr. Campbell earned her bachelor of science (summa cum laude) in Accounting with a minor in Economics from North Carolina A&T State University, a Historically Black College & University (HBCU). She earned her Ph.D. in Public Policy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she was the first Black person and woman to graduate from the program. She was a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Education at the University of Michigan.