It+gave+me+confidence

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**“It gave me confidence”: How field experience and service learning impacts pre-service teachers’ learning regarding multiculturalism and diversity in an urban middle school ** Sue Foo, Associate Professor, Worcester State University [sfoo@worcester.edu]

Thomas Farrington, student, Worcester State University [tfarrington@worcester.edu]

Matthew Cadigan, student, Worcester State University [mcadigan1@worcester.edu]

Elizabeth Marc-Aurele, student, Worcester State University [emarcaurele@worcester.edu]

Erin Desmarais, student, Worcester State University [edesmarais@worcester.edu]

Jessica Xavier, student, Worcester State University [jxavier@worcester.edu]

**Keywords:** Pre-service teachers, multicultural education, qualitative action research, K-12 public schools, teacher preparation programs

**Conference Track:** Higher education student outcomes

**Format:** Research/Scholarly paper

**Summary** This is a qualitative action research study in which focus groups and semi - structured interviews were conducted. It is an action research project as the faculty member is currently teaching the course and will be reflective throughout this project. The purposes of this study were: 1) to assess the partnership between the Education Department of a university in the Northeast and an urban professional development school (PDS); 2) to investigate the perspectives/perceptions of pre - service teachers on the importance of multicultural education and diversity in a teacher preparation program; 3) to investigate the impact of service learning/field experience on pre - service teachers’ learning. Implications for teacher preparation program were discussed. The 2006 National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reported that 57.1 percent of US school - aged children are still identified as White but there has been a dramatic increase in the number of ethnically diverse children attending US schools. In light of the increasing diversity of student populations in the US public school system, partnerships between teacher preparation and PDSs have to be reviewed to ensure that pre - service teachers are placed in authentic environments that enable them to learn new skills as well as challenge biases and promote educational equity.

Over the last decade, there has been a strong emphasis on the impact of partnerships between K - 12 schools and university teacher preparation programs (Teitel, 2003). As the demographics of student populations continue to change, educators of teacher preparation programs need to find ways to prepare future teachers to teach in diverse settings. The author hopes to stimulate further research on teacher preparation and diversity. This will also add to the literature on teacher preparation. The author also hopes to engage educators, student teachers, community workers, and families in conversations about the education of our children.

**References** Coffey, H., (2010). They taught me: The benefits of early community-based field experience in teacher education. //Teaching and Teacher Education, 26,// 335-342.

Sleeter, C. (2008). Equity, democracy, and neoliberal assaults on teacher education. //Teaching and Teacher Education, 24//, 1947–1957.

Teitel, L. (2003). //The professional development schools handbook: Starting, sustaining, and assessing partnerships that improve student learning//. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

U.S. Department of Education. (2006, March). Characteristics of schools, districts, teachers, principals, and school libraries in the United States, 2003–2004, Schools and Staffing Survey (Report 2006-313, Table 18 & Table 19 [Publication No. NCES 2006313]). Retrieved from National Centre for Education Statistics: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2006313
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