MI study details obstacles within teacher training programs

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By Jill Barshay (mailto:[email protected]?subject=your%20newsletter)

In an opinion piece published in The Hechinger Report last week, Sharif El-Mekki, chief executive officer for the Center for Black Educator Development in Philadelphia, called attention to an unintended consequence of union layoff rules ([link removed]) . They disproportionately pink-slip Black educators, who tend to have less seniority. That’s going to be a bigger problem as the declining youth population triggers massive teacher layoffs across the country in the coming years.

Finding ways to retain Black teachers who are already in classrooms should be a priority given the lopsided imbalances between an overwhelmingly white teacher labor force and majority nonwhite student population. Equally important is the scarce supply of future Black teachers. A new report from Michigan explains why so few Black undergraduates, despite a healthy interest in teaching, make it across the finish line to teacher certification.

The June 2023 report, “Tracking Progress Through Michigan’s Teacher Pipeline ([link removed]) ,” was produced by the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC), a research center at Michigan State University.

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Key Points
* Black undergraduates in Michigan were almost as likely as white students to take a teacher education class (13 percent of Black students versus 14 percent of white students).
* But only 7 percent of the Black students who took a teacher education course in Michigan became student teachers, compared to 30 percent of the white students who took these courses.
* Many of these Black students are staying in college and earning degrees. They’re just not completing their teacher training, even after taking a substantial number of education courses.
* Researchers highlight the financial sacrifices required to complete student teaching hours and the frequent need to spend five years in college in order to get through all the steps of teacher training.
* Another obstacle is Michigan’s teacher licensure tests. The pass rates for Black students are much lower.

Teacher Takeaway
* Tara Kilbride, assistant director of research at EPIC, advises prospective teachers to be aware of the financial hurdles that pop up late in teacher training programs. She says there are often stipends and grants that low-income teacher candidates of color can tap into but the application process requires advance planning.
* Many teacher candidates might benefit from more test prep practice to pass licensure exams, and information on how to take advantage of fee waivers to retake exams.

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Lit Review

Education Policy Innovation Collaborative. (June 2023) Tracking Progress Through Michigan’s Teacher Pipeline ([link removed]) Michigan State University.

Goings R., Bianco M. (2016). Hard to be who you don’t see: An exploration of Black male high school students’ perspectives on becoming teachers. The Urban Review, 48, 628-646. [link removed]

Bell, P., & Busey, C. L. (2021). The Racial Grammar of Teacher Education: Critical Race Theory Counterstories of Black and Latina First-Generation Preservice Teachers. Teacher Education Quarterly, 48(1), 33–56. [link removed]
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