. n c AA \‘ E B'AAPVANT cam * cEA A \_ ENTAL A I L-DEVELOPAAENTIAND ' 9025mm CH SFDR i; x New. .PREPARI r'theLD . ADA Alf 8.9. 98? szo‘ Thesi \ CLNJSTATEi MICH! UNI SMITH .- CAROL-PAYNE ‘ .fiokb“pfi‘t..11.r I .r.:....r trit. . L I B It A F Y Michigan Si its University {Fi- $15 This is to certify that the thesis entitled PREPARING TEACHERS FOR THE DISADVANTAGED: DEVELOPMENT AND PROCEDURES OF AN EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM presented by CAROL PAYNE SMITH has been accepted towards fulfillment I of the requirements for '1 Ph D degree in _.£.duca.t.i.on Date May 13, 1971 0-7839 ABSTRACT PREPARING TEACHERS FOR THE DISADVANTAGED: DEVELOPMENT AND PROCEDURES OF AN EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM By Carol Payne Smith The purpose of this study was twofold: l) to exa— mine the development and procedures of the one semester undergraduate program, "Preparing to Teach the Disadvan- taged," offered at Western Michigan University by the Department of Teacher Education since Winter, 1968 and 2) to determine if this program has been helping new teachers to meet the many challenges of teaching the economically and educationally disadvantaged in the public schools. A brief history of the involvement of higher education in preparing teachers for the disadvantaged was developed. The role of Western Michigan University in programs for preparing teachers for the disadvantaged was described. The classes, teacher assistant experience, staff and students of the one semester program, "Preparing to Teach the Disadvantaged,"were described in detail. Through the use of a questionnaire sent to all former students of the program, an attempt was made to ascertain Carol Payne Smith the characteristics of the students who had chosen to enter the program. Former students of the program were asked: (1) to list demographic data about themselves, (2) to list their experiences with the children of the poor prior to entering the program, (3) to describe their current involvement with the poor, (4) to list their current read- ing matter not required for classes and (5) to describe their teaching behavior. Students who had completed the program and were teaching or student teaching in middle class schools were asked if they would move to a low income school if that were possible. Those former students who were currently student teaching or teaching in low income schools were asked if they would move to a middle class school if that were possible. All former students were asked to evaluate the effectiveness of the Teacher Education classes in the program, the Teacher Assistant experiences and their own Student Teaching experiences in helping them meet selected problems in working in the classroom with the disadvantaged. Previous studies of teachers have indicated that most teachers prefer to teach in middle class schools; however, these former students who were teaching or student teaching in middle class schools indicated a desire to move to a low income school if that were possible. Also more than 90 percent of the student teachers and teachers in low income schools indicated they would not want to move Carol Payne Smith to middle class schools if it were possible. Former students rated the Teacher Education classes in the program as helping them.z§£y well, well and some to meet the problems of motivation, low reading achieve- ment of students, hostility towards middle class teachers, racial barriers, low student self concept, students' dislike for school and miscellaneous problems encountered in teach— ing the disadvantaged. The ratings accorded the Teacher Assistant experiences and Student Teaching were higher than those of the Teacher Education classes in their helpfulness in meeting the problems cited above. Problems encountered in beginning teaching assign- ments were cited by the respondents and suggestions for improving the program, "Preparing to Teach the Disadvantaged," were advanced. PREPARING TEACHERS FOR THE DISADVANTAGED: DEVELOPMENT AND PROCEDURES OF AN EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM By Carol Payne Smith A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Administration and Higher Education 1971 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The writer wishes to express her appreciation to all who have contributed to the deve10pment and completion of this study. Special acknowledgment is due Dr. Laurine Fitz— gerald, chairman of the author's doctoral committee, who has given valuable counsel and encouragement to the writer. To Drs. Willa Norris and Robert Ebel appreciation is ex- pressed for their suggestions and interest in the develop- ment of this study and to Dr. Lawrence Lezotte for his aid in the compilation and organization of the data. The encouragement and assistance of Drs. Cameron Lambe and Uldis Smidchens and Mrs. Helen Jennings in the preparation and distribution of the instrument used in this study is appreciated. Lastly, to my husband Robert and to sons Jeffrey, Christopher and Timothy, who gave encouragement, good humor and assistance and without whose patience and under— standing this study would not have been completed, much appreciation is due. ii VITA Carol Payne Smith was born in Sandusky, Ohio, on March 21, 1933, and attended the Huron, Ohio, public schools. As Valedictorian of the class of 1951 at Huron High School, she was the recipient of the Rotary Club Scholarship Award. Dr. Smith matriculated at Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, where she re- ceived the Bachelor of Science in Business Education in 1955. As an undergraduate Dr. Smith served as President of the Student Senate and was initiated into Pi Omega Pi, Kappa Delta Pi, and Mortar Board. Dr. Smith completed the course work for the Master of Science in Guidance and Counseling at Bowling Green State University in 1957; however, she did not complete the degree until 1962, and then, at Michigan State Uni— versity. She has taught in the Port Clinton, Ohio, public schools, the Holland, Michigan, West Ottawa public schools, and in the Psychology Department at Hope College, as well as in the Department of Teacher Education at Western Michigan University since 1964, where she is currently an associate professor. Dr. Smith holds memberships in the American Person- nel and Guidance Association, the American Civil Liberties Union, and is on the board of directors of the Kalamazoo iii ' Branch of the League of Women Voters. Her extensive involvement in community affairs includes service on the Kalamazoo Racial Balance Committee and the Joint Diaconate of the Kalamazoo area Presbyterian Churches. At Western Michigan University she is a member of the Student Ser- vices Council and is Faculty Sponsor to the local chapter of Kappa Delta Pi. Dr. Smith's husband, Dr. Robert L. Smith, is Director of the University Theatre at Western Michigan University where he is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences. She is the mother of three children: Jeffrey Robert, 14; Chris- topher Edward, 13; and Timothy James, 7. iv TABLE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . VITA . . LIST OF TABLES . . . . . Chapter I. II. III. INTRODUCTION . . OF CONTENTS Introductory Statement Need for the Study Purposes of the Study Definition of Terms Overview REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE . . Introductory Statement The Situation in our Cities The Problems Posed for Education DrOp Outs Low Achievement Teacher Frustration The Preparation of Teachers in General Early History of the Development of Teacher Education Teacher Preparation in the Universities Laboratory Experiences in Teacher Education Special Programs for Preparing to Teach the Disadvantaged DESCRIPTION OF THE PROGRAM . History of the Program at Western Michigan University Aims and Objectives of the Program Description of the Curriculum Description of the Laboratory Experiences Description of the Staff Description of the Students Page . ii . iii . vii . 63 Page IV. PRESENTATION OF DESCRIPTIVE DATA . . . . . 94 Demographic Information for Students Entering the PrOgram Prior Experiences with the Poor Source of College Expenses Extracurricular Activities in College Cumulative Grade Point Average in College Present Reading Habits of Former Students in the PrOgram Present Status of Former Students of the PrOgram Preference for Teaching in a Middle Class School Preference for Teaching in a Low Income School Problems Encountered with the Disadvantaged Suggestions for Additional Experiences with the Disadvantaged Teacher Behavior of Former Students of the Program Evaluation of the Program, "Preparing to Teach the Disadvantaged" Evaluation of the Teacher Education classes in the Program Evaluation of the Teacher Assistant experiences in the Program Evaluation of the student Teaching experiences V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS . 124 Summary Conclusions Recommendations APPENDIX 0 O O O O O O O O 0 O O O O O O I O O O 134 BIBLIOGRAPHY O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O I 1 45 VI. Table II III IV VI VII VIII IX XI XII XIII XIV XV LIST OF TABLES Description of the Respondents by Term Enrolled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Prior Experiences with the Poor . . . . . . . Source of College Expenses . . . . . . . . . Extracurricular Activities in College . . . . Cumulative Grade Point Average . . . . . . . Current Reading Habits of Former Students of the Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Demographic Data and Present Status of Respondents to the Questionnaire . . . . . Percentage of Teacher Responses to Preference for Middle Class School by Level, Sex and Race 0 O O O O O O 0 O O O O 0 O O O O O 0 Percentage of Teacher Responses to Preference for Middle Class School by SEC of childhood home and Type of School Attended . . . . . Preference. for Middle Class School by Prior Experiences with the Poor . . . . . . . . Preference for Middle Class School by Term Enrolled in the Program . . . . . . . . . . Preference for Low Income School by Level, sex and Race 0 O I I O O O I I O I O I O 0 Preference for Low Income School by Term Enrolled in the Program . . Preference for Low Income School by Religion Preference for Low Income School by SEC of Childhood Home, SEC of High School and Type of School Attended . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Page 96 99 100 101 102 103 105 107 107 108 108 109 110 110 Table XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX XXI XXII Preference for Low Income School by Type of Prior Experience with the Poor . . . . . Preference for Low Income School by Type of College Activity Involvement . . . . . . . Preference for Low Income School by Cumulative Grade Point Average . . . . . . . . . . . . Teacher Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Evaluation of the Teacher Education Classes Evaluation of the Teacher Assistant Classroom Experiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Evaluation of the Student Teaching Experiences viii Page 112 112 113 117 119 120 122 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Introductory Statement The problems of teaching in the inner city and the plight of urban schools are not unknown to the general public. Films such as Blackboard Jungle, 22 Sir With Love and Up the Down Staircase have enjoyed box office success and narrative accounts by teachers and former teachers of their experiences in city schools have reached several printings--Death at an Early Age, Our Children Are Dying, 2g Children, The Schoolchildren, for example. The decaying school buildings, deprived children and blighted neighbor- hoods combine to produce problems not like those of the middle class environments from which most teachers come and which are used for laboratory experiences for teacher trainees. The migration of southern rural whites and blacks to the city in search of jobs, immigration of Puerto Ricans to the mainland for higher paying jobs and the migration of middle class whites to the suburbs have helped to create a climate of poverty andcknnivation in the public schools of the city. 2 The larger cities of the United States are rapidly approaching the point where half of the children living in the city who attend the public schools come from a home that is culturally different from that of the middle class teacher prepared to teach with middle class textbooks and curricula. Need for the Study The launching of the Soviet satellite in 1957 ‘trzr<3888 is the teacher. It is no secret that in many cities 'tkiee depressed areas have been the "Siberia" of the local tac:11<>ol system and the teachers who were found out of favor Vfi.1:11 the supervisors, administrators or parents were sent to these undesired schools. Teachers reflect the attitudes of society at large 't<>‘vexrd the poor and disadvantaged. Teachers from middle ‘33—Elsss homes who have attended middle class schools have been trained essentially to function in a middle class "<>1?JJd of white students, and many of these teachers do not grow up to work in middle class schools.3 A Teacher Opinion Poll conducted by the National EdIlcation Association discovered that only three percent of \ 1The Wall Street Journal, November 15, 1967. 13 2Robert L. Green (ed.), Racial Crisis in American Esslllcation (Chicago: Follett Educational Corporafion, T969). Q 4 . It 3A. Harry Passow (ed.), Education in Depgessed rislzgg (New York: Teachers College, 1963), p. E0. 4 the respondents from a survey of a cross-section of the nation's public school teachers would elect to teach in a school in a slum neighborhood; hence, some ways need to be found to change the attitudes of teacher trainees toward the children of the poor.4 The low achievement of children in the inner city is well known as well as the negative attitudes towards the established schools and the staff which have been expressed by the young peOple of the community through dis- Cipline problems in the school, vandalism and acts of Violence towards other students and teachers. The high drOp out rate, absenteeism and lack of interest in school learning exhibited by young pe0ple in the city schools indicates that schools and teachers are not having the favorable impact on their pupils as has been the case in the suburban areas. It would seem important, therefore, to discover successful approaches to preparing teachers from middle class homes and schools to work effec— tively in schools with high proportions of disadvantaged children and youth- Purpose of the Study It is the purpose of this study to describe the 1dietary of the development and procedures of the experimen- taJ. program for training teachers for the disadvantaged at Western Michigan University, 1968—70. \ 1 4"Teacher Opinion Poll," NEA Journal, December, 967, p. 63. 5 An attempt will be made to determine if this pro- gram helped the graduates of the program to identify problems likely to be encountered in teaching the educationally and economically disadvantaged. Students who have completed the program will be asked if they would like to teach in a low income school and an attempt will be made to determine if graduates of the program view teaching the educationally and economically disadvantaged as something they desire to do and feel cap- able of doing as a result of their experiences in this PrOgram. An attempt will be made to determine what changes S131.1(ients of the program would like to see instituted in this one semester program as well as in the regular teacher education curriculum. Through the use of a questionnaire as well as per- sonal interviews an attempt will be made to see if students of this program make attempts to individualize instruction and make provisions for individual needs and differences 11‘ the classroom. Delimitation of the Study This study is limited to subjects who have been erll‘ulled for one semester in the Western Michigan University I)nbogram, "Preparing to Teach the Disadvantaged," 1968-70. Descriptive data will be compiled for all students who h 3“’9 selected to enter the program; all students who have 6 completed the prOgram and who are student teaching; all students who have completed the program and have not graduated from the University; all students who have graduated and have entered the teaching profession; and all students who have graduated and who have not entered t he teaching profession. Definition of Terms A listing of the important terms and their defini— tions in relation to this study are as follows: Disadvantaged - individuals lacking in adequacy or HIeBWELIQJS. Disadvantaged Children - children who grow up in jLIIAIPCDXIerished homes, reared by parents with limited educa- Lt;jL<>13., limited occupational skills, limited aspirations and limited prospects for the future. Economically Disadvantaged - children from home ELIld/<>r community background where a majority of the families lack adequate financial income which results in substandard living conditions. Educationally Disadvantaged - children who have Ineauger educational backgrounds and who, for a wide variety of reasons, are ambivalent towards the work of the school. Low-Income - income of $3,000 or less for a family 0 f four persons . Middle—Income - income above $3,000 but less than as 1 0.000 for a family of four. 7 High-income - income above $10,000 for a family of four . Disadvantaggd School - elementary, junior or senior high school in which a majority of the children are fjrc>nn educationally and economically disadvantaged environ- Inearidbss. Target area School - an elementary, junior or seexagi_<>r high school in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where the student Population classified as being economically deprived ac— cording to the definition of the Elementary—Secondary Education Act of 1965 exceeds 6.7 percent. Formal Education Courses - education classes taken Lt3ll <3<>llege students preparing to be teachers as part of their professional training and which are normally classi- fied- as pre—clinical preparation. Student Teaching — clinical preparation experience I)I‘Q‘rided whereby the prospective teacher assumes the teacher 1?(3:L€3 in the classroom and which is under school and college Supervision. The typical laboratory experience in a public s chool is for a term or a semester. Overview Chapter Two of this study is devoted to a review of the literature as it pertains to the problem. A description of the Experimental Program for Pre- ‘ID . . al‘lng to Teach the Disadvantaged at Western Michigan Uni- \r ersity is presented in Chapter Three. 8 The findings of the study and evaluation of the program will be presented in Chapter Four. A summary of the study and conclusions and recom- mendations derived from the results of the study are found in Chapter Five. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE The review of the literature was directed toward information concerning the assumptions on which this study was undertaken, namely: Assumption 1. The large numbers of economically disadvantaged children in the cities have produced certain environmental aspects which directly affect the schools of the city. Assumption 2. The problems involved in educating the economically disadvantaged in the schools are unique and different from the problems in- volved in educating children from homes where there is a stable wage earner whose income provides not only the necessities of life but also for educational enrichment. Assumption 3. This uniqueness is recognized by institutions preparing teachers and they are developing programs which provide experiences for working with the economically disadvantaged. The Situation in our Cities In the 1969-70 school year the public schools enrol- 2L - ed more than 45 million students. In 1966, Havighurst 9 10 estimated that about 15 percent of the child pOpulation is educationally disadvantaged and that in large cities such as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, Detroit and Cleveland, about 30 percent of the children would come from family backgrounds which hold habits and attitudes which result in handicaps for the children.1 Because of the mobility of the population and the exodus from the public schools of middle class white children, the percentage of children described as economically and educationally disadvantaged in the cities' schools is Closer to 50 percent. America has shifted from an agrarian nation to a 118—1: ion based on technology and science. There has been a cont inuous movement of people away from the farms into the c=j-‘bies since 1900. The movement of persons within the United States has been particularly dramatic as evidenced by the statistic that between 1910 and 1960, when the popu- lat ion of rural areas declined from 54.3I to 30.1 percent of the total population, the pOpulation in the urban areas rose from 45.7 to 69.9 percent of the total pOpulation.2 This movement of Americans from rural to urban aareas has resulted in the growth of large metropolitan a’Z'I‘eas noted for their declining central city surrounded by suburban areas which attract the middle and upper income \ ad 1Joe L. Frost and Glenn R. Hawkes (eds.), The Dis- \p Vantaged Child (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 19667,“— ‘ 1. 2Elizabeth EddyS Walk the White Line (New York: 9 Qubleday and Co., 1967 pp. 2—5. 11 fzanniglies who are moving away from the inner city. As the more affluent move into suburbia from the central city, their places are taken by the rural poor who, in addition t<> Ixroblems imposed by economic deprivation, have the pro— blem of adapting a rural way of life to an urban environ— Mi31113. In defining poverty the most frequently cited fj—égture as marking the poverty line in the United States tc>€1£1y is an annual income of $3.000 for a family of four. Tk131-EB is the figure used in the 1964 "Economic Report of the P33'1-‘<3sident," prepared by the Council of Economic Advisers, but with the costs of inflation, that figure would be con— S:Lciered by most to be too low. In 1961, 21 percent of all families had incomes md er $3,000 but of families with children, 4.7 million had in Sufficient income to provide adequately for their child- ren ‘s needs.3 More families with incomes under $5,000 live in the 3:1?132y than in the suburbs and the number is increasing. As the Urban Task Force pointed out, As racial and ethnic minorities flow into the cities, their numbers, their poverty, their social isolation, their lack of education and their needs and problems which are dissimilar to their predecessors, are of direct concern to the educational system. While the system has been able to count their numbers and to measure the indicators of their poverty, social iso- lation and lack of education, it has, in many cases failed to respond to, or even to recognize, their 3Frost, p. 29. 12 needs and problems. . . . Negroes comprised 11 percent of the population of all metropolitan areas, and in 1968, 12 percent. In the inner city, the concentration is greater in density. Today, blacks comprise about 20 percent of the total inner city population as compared with 12 percent in 1950. In cities with one million or more inhabitants, blacks make up an inner city population today of 25 percent as compared to 15 percent in 1950. . . . 85 percent of the Spanish-speaking population resides in an urban environment while they repre— sent five percent of the general pOpulation. As the Commission on Civil Disorders cautioned, we are moving closer and closer 'toward two societies, one black, one white--separate and unequal.'4 The facts of economic status differential among the TEL(35.8.1 groups living in the United States are well known: Negr‘oes, Indians, and the groups of mixed racial ancestry COIIlziung from Latin America have average incomes markedly be:1-<3ww those of whites. In 1965, poor families (those whose meGlues are below the poverty line of $5,000 per year per fa11121.33) represented 56 percent of the non-white pOpulation but only 14.1 percent of the white. The median family irl‘l'lome of non-whites was 53 percent of the median family income of whites in 1963, and that figure has remained more or less constant since 1948.5 Mere education alone does not account for the do J‘ZEEiTerence in median income between non-white and white. \ Rea 4Urban Task Force, Urban School Crisis (Final meport of the Task Force on Urban Educat'io'n"o"'f"' the Depart- sgn of Health, Education and Welfare, submitted to HEW QI‘etary, Robert H. Finch, January 5, 1970), p. 32. 5Herbert C. Rudman and Richard L. Featherstone, U TE§EEEES? Schooling (New York: Harcourt,Brace & World, Inc., , pp. 751-155. 15 The Negro family whose head has some high school education earns less than the white with fewer than eight years of schooling; the Negro who has attended (but not completed) college earns less than the white with only eight years of elemen- tary schook the Negro college graduate earns but slightly ore than did the white high school graduate. The seniority rule in unions and the closed-union PIfiiJaxziples as well as the deliberate discrimination against non—whites contribute to the difference in median eElI?rlings of whites and non-whites, but a third and more PE?1?1:inent reason for the barrier to good jobs for non- wL'J-Ii—‘bes is that segregated schools and other non-white AITEaLjLning facilities fail to offer as high a level of train— irléE: as do the schools for whites.7 Not only do a larger number of families whose in— CCDIIIGES place them below the poverty level live in the inner CjL‘tizy but higher prOportions of central city families have ill‘C=<3mes under $5,000 than do those in the suburbs. A lower Pro portion of central city families have incomes over $L1‘C),,000 than do those in the suburbs. Twice the prOportion Ozif <3entral city population lives in poverty than in the SLitrurbsfi Poverty takes its toll on the children of the city. [‘13 :is estimated that for the 10.5 million children living __§-~_‘ AWea 6Rashi Fein, “An Economic and Social Profile of the é§lco American," Daedalus (Fall, 1965), p. 855. 7 8 Rudman, p. 161. Urban Task Force, p. 9. 14 in poverty food is either unavailable or insufficient to meet even minimum standards necessary to sustain health. In the urban areas where the majority of these children live, malnutrition exists almost exclusively among the 9 racial and ethnic minority groups of the inner city. Not only is the inner city populated by the poor Whose children do not get enough food but also the cities are becoming increasingly populated by the poor black. The Urban Education Task Force projected by 1986 that the non- W’l'lrlte population of the large metr0politan areas would dOuble, growing from 10.4 million in 1960 to 20.1 million in 1985.10 The problems created by the increasing numbers ofL black children, by the inevitable deepening of the bit- t eI~ness and frustration which racial isolation and discrim- ination have bred, and by the never-ending cycle of poverty, are also increasing the magnitude of the problem confronting urban education. "Specifically, the schools will face more children with more needs and parents with less tolerance for 1"3451s:aleable and invalid education .and less acceptance of the Schools current brands of expertise."11 The differences in spending for the schools in the cities and the suburbs is striking in many instances. 811a.ker Heights, Ohio, offers a child a $10,000 education \ 9Urban Task Force, p. 21. 10Urban Task Force, p. 29. 11Ibid. 15 vvkijLLe on the east side of Cleveland the child's education is worth about $7,000. The spending deficiency is related, too, to the exodus of middle income families to the suburbs and the growing racial isolation of the schools. In 1966, 54 per- cent of Cleveland's school p0pulation was black, but 91 IP€31?<:ent.of all its youngsters were attending either a Wh.ite or black segregated school.12 It is well-known also that Chicago is more segregated than many Deep South cities Elllxi. in Washington, the school p0pulation is more than 96 p e I‘cent black. The Urban Education Task Force prefaced their PeaIbort to HEW Secretary Finch by describing the urban edu- c=5341310n systems as "facing a major challenge to provide a":E>]E:>ropriate learning experiences for the various life ESflbiSVles of their vast numbers of students."13 The life SiflbiSfles of minority groups, particularly inner city blacks, 11"=3-‘V‘V‘e certainly been ignored for a considerable period of t ime. Green states it well when he writes, . . . there is substantial evidence that the archi- tects of testing, classification, middle class mor- ality and white supremacy.have written the texts, taught the leaders and established the system that has proved to be a haven for the beneficiaries of Social Darwinism.1 \ 12Larry Cuban, To Make A Difference: Teaching lg the EEEEEsggg City (New York: THE Free Press, 1970), p. 55. 13Urban Task Force, p. 5. 14Green, p. 154. 16 The migrations within the United States have resulted in a new pOpulation for the urban school and the urban school prOgrams, but the administrators and teachers lazixrea been caught unprepared for many of the new tasks which they are called upon to perform. "Many of today's tiri-—n1igrant Negroes were prepared by custom, tradition, habit and schooling to accept a protected and restricted 1P<>3Lea in society."15 These old roles associated with the I'Ullrsil South are not serving the urban black well in his new c: omplex environment . Most writers agree that the urban schools as an institution have failed the children and recognize that the dj—Zf:‘ficulty has to do with the child's estrangement from the Inga~21L.:nstream of the society and the denial to him of access to the rewards of life by the dominant middle—class culture. For the Negro child in particular, who is more likely than the white to be poor and whose life chance is further reduced by.the certainty of dis- crimination in employment and housing, school is likely to be a.meaningless way station to nowhere. For the middle— and working—class white child, school represents relatively direct access to higher education and the professions or to stable, skilled employment, but until it means the same to the Negro child, the school, to be e fective must work twice as hard for fewer gains. Charles Silberman writes, "The schools never did l‘Eééitrn how to be effective with children from lower-class or \ 15Rudman, p. 218. V, 16Harry L. Miller (ed.), Education for the Disad- “‘§¥£llfig§fl;(New York: The Free Press, 1967), p. 2. 17 minority homes; they remained institutions in which these youngsters felt alien and estranged."17 Hollingshead's oft-quoted sociological study, Elmstown's Youth, argued that "while lower-class family life and culture did not prepare adolescents to adjust to the school, neither did the school adjust itself to the needs of lower-class students." Although schools have changed since World War II, the slum schools are still failing to provide the poor-- 131'1e Negroes, Indians, Puerto Ricans, Mexican-Americans and Appalachian whites with the kind of education they need to eIljoy the American way of life as depicted on the television 8 Green. In one skill area, a recent writer criticized our t eEtchers and schools with the statement, ". . . across this nation, virtually none of the children of the poor are learning how to read."18 The crisis in urban education focuses on finding ways for the impoverished to become economically indepen- <1 ant and socially respected. It is often suggested that the only way to help the poor is to educate them in the 3k ills, attitudes, and habits that are attractive on the j 0b market.19 \ ( 17Charles E. Silberman, Crisis in the Classroom New York: Random House, 1970), p. 65. 1) 18Edward O. Vail, "But Not Our Children," Phi ‘51-’03 Kappan XII No. 3 (November, 1970), p. 161. “— 19Passow, p. 15. n14 ‘ )WN; 18 One.might question as Morine has that schools have no excuse for existence if they do not in some way benefit both the children who attend them and the society as a whole.20 Morine believes that to succeed in the American junior or senior high school today one must first have a desire to succeed in those institutions and second, be able to read well. Without these two qualities it is only a matter of time before the child fails and begins to exPect to fail in school.21 Larry Cuban, a teacher in the Cardozo Project in LJI‘k)an Teaching in Washington, D. C., believes that too many myths about the inner city have been told in films and. television which nourish stereotypes in the public's In31—1'1d. That although many low-income children lack the es Sential writing, reading, computing and reasoning skills he cessary for effective participation in our society, that it is the school, not the student and his neighborhood, Wh ich bears the major responsibility for his inadequacy.22 The general problems present in the cities and their effects on education have been summarized well by 1T'Ile Urban Task Force as follows: \ 20Harold and Greta Morine, g Primer for the Inner— School (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 19765, 21Morine, p. 3. 22Cuban, xix. 19 1) Cities face financial deterioration as a result of patterns of pOpulation migration. a. Patterns of migration include exit from cities of business and professional pOpulations and en- trance by lower income and economically disadvan- taged populations. b. Disadvantaged pOpulations pay fewer taxes and require costlier services than do suburban pOpula- tions, including an education which is inevitably more expensive than that adequate and appropriate for suburban pOpulations. 0. Loss of business, lowered employment rates, lowering land values, are among the facts which make the cities' economies too weak to deal ade- quately with education for the disadvantaged. d. Problems accompanying cities' density and deter- ioration demand expensive solutions in areas additional to education. Education receives smaller share in prOportion to city's total bud- get. e. Cities simply cannot afford as much money for education per pupil as suburbs. 2) Education in the cities costs more than education in the suburbs. a. There are higher service costs. b. High poor, black, handicapped and immigrant prOportions of the student body have high require- ments for special educational attention. 3) State aid formulas do not offset disparities. 4) Lack of public confidence toward education is mani- fest in taxpayers' objections to increased spending on education. 5) Financial difficulties experienced by non-public schools have created additional difficulties for the cities' public schools.2 \Drop Outs The irrelevance of today's education to the needs aLtl‘i- life experiences of the disadvantaged is reflected in tiklie ‘high dropout rate which might be a protest against and \ 23Urban Task Force, p. 19. 20 a rejection of the educational programs of the schools.24 Reissman has argued that the "culturally deprived child" (a descriptor which has lost favor with educators because of its negative connotations and inaccuracy) under- stands the advantages of an education in our society but fails to make full use of his schooling because of the con- descension and lack of cultural understanding of his middle- class teacher. The teacher has traditionally been the mis- sionary of the middle-class culture, and in his zeal to convert the poor, he has ruthlessly sought to exterminate all aspects of the lower-class subculture.25 The drOpout rate is highest among those most dis- criminated against on the job market when they have a high S<=hool diploma. Negro students in the metropolitan north and west are more than three times as likely as whites to drOP out of school by ages 16 and 17. About 48 percent of the non-white population over 25 lacks a high school diploma 8-8 Opposed to 27.5 percent of the whites without a diplo- ma.26 The drOpout rate has a dramatic effect on the em— plOyment rate of black teenagers. In the final quarter of 1 967, black teenagers had an unemployment rate of a \ 13 24Gordon J. Klopf and Garda W. Bowman, Teacher W in g Social Context (New York: Mental Health a“Serials Center, Inc., 1966), p. 3. 25K10pf and Bowman, p. 24. 26Urban Education Task Force, p. 36. 21 Staggering 34 percent, worse than the Kerner Commission had estimated. By 1968 the unemployment rate had been reduced to 27.3 percent. In addition to the two million unemployed, the Kerner Commission estimated that about 10 million people are underemployed, 5.5 million of whom work full-time and earn less than the annual poverty wage. A more recent study of the Washington, D. C. labor force (May 18, 1969), describes the subemployment rate there at 2 3 - 1 percent.27 Although the schools must undoubtedly take some of the blame for the plight of the high rate of unemployment of Negro youth, it is unreasonable that they should be considered solely responsible . 28 Nearly one million youth leave high school before graduating and for them there is no transition from school to work. Despite propaganda about the importance of staying in school, the system loses 35 percent of its enrollees during high school. Large numbers of these dropouts are Silllply early leavers who are capable of considerably more education than they received.29 The social and psychological effects of joblessness are painfully evident in America today. They can be seen \ 27 28Miller, p. 5. Urban Task Force, p. 28. ‘1: 29Grant Venn, Man, Education and Manpower (Washing— ton, D. C: The American Association of School Administra_ °rs. 1970), p. 18. v—-— CV Mn‘ H.‘ 22 in the faces of those standing in line for relief checks; none of whom may be starving, and there may be work around the home that could keep them busy, but without a job they are lost. Tens of thousands of jobless youth cast about at loose ends, With 80 to 90 percent of the juvenile cases in 30 the courts coming from their ranks. By educating peOple for meaningful work and getting them off the welfare rolls into the occupational structure, expenditures in education could have the direct effect of lowering social services costs. The following are some rather frightening statistics: 1) Eight million adult Americans have notfinished five years of school; 2) more than 20 million have not completed eighth grade; 3) close to 60 million have not completed high school; 4) One student out of every four will drop out before completing high school; 5) During 1967-68 an average of $623 was spent per year per child in our public schools; 6) It costs $2,400 a year to keep a delinquent youth in a Ckitention, home; 7) It costs $3,400 a year for a family on relief; 8) To keep a convict in a state prison costs an average of 354,800 a year.“ However, a high school gradu- atEB is expected to earn about $7,494 a year; the college grEMIuate should average $11,135 a year. The link between \ 3O 31 Venn, p. 36. Venn, p. 77. .1 'Y 1“” “‘t. fir ~u .15 . 2‘ 25 the over $4.5 billion now spent annually on welfare pay- ments to 7.25 million persons and lack of education is beyond dispute. Education is the key to the change for an individual to become a $25,000 welfare liability or a $90,000 taxpaying asset:52 The high school diploma has not become a reality for many young peOple. The national figure for high school graduates in 1968 who had been ninth graders in 1964 is 78.5 percent; in the South, the graduates in 1968 ranged in percentages from 62.8 to 75.5..53 In Chicago, students who do not graduate from high school are found mainly in the inner city schools where between half and two—thirds of the entering pupils drop out.34 We have traditionally thought of a drOpout as a Child who has failed to succeed in school rather than the more realistic appraisal of the school's failure to succeed with the child. "In effect, the child has not drOpped out; he has been pushed out by a school that has ignored his educational needs and by a curriculum that had no relevance 1“) his aspirations or learning problems."35 52Urban Task Force, p. 44. 53Samuel M. Holton, "Education in the Changing Ehruth," The Education Digest xxxv: (January, 1970), p. 7. 54Eddy, p. 52. '7 _ ’5Jerome Hellmuth (ed.), Disadvantaged Child 111 (New York: Brunner-Mazel Publishers, 1970), p. 268. 24 Those who have not completed high school are only 46 percent of the total labor force yet they account for 64 percent of the unemployed. Sixty—two percent of the jobless fathers of children receiving Aid to Dependent Children have no education beyond elementary school. The inner city child who leaves school before he receives a diploma faces a rather dim future in the occu— pational world. If schools, and particularly the teacher, could be more sensitive to the needs of the potential drop— out perhaps a savings of dollars in welfare funds and a savings of useless and unproductive lives might be achieved. Low Achievement Besides dropping out of school before receiving a diploma, the inner city child or educationally disadvantaged child may be a victim of low school achievement. One author has defined the disadvantaged as having many of the following school—related characteristics: overage retardation in grade level IQ below 90 lack of interest in school low school marks reading retardation of two grade levels uncooperative parental attitudes poor or fair general personal and social adjustment non—participation in out-of—school activities absenteeism and truancy underlying racial tensions rejection by in-school peers members of large families (five or more children) resentment of controls 36 parental achievement of grade seven or below. W mauve—~00 (Edema-w NH VVVVVVVVVVVVV add—.d—b 36Klopf and Bowman, p. 55. 25 The school in the slum neighborhood has many classes for the slow pupil and in some schools more than half of the pupils in any given grade are in such classes. The large number of classes composed of children who are deficient workers and the low prestige accorded to them in an educational system which highly values the academically competent child present an especially arduous task to the school and the teachers in the slums.37 The system has failed to provide the inner city student with the necessary level of achievement in academic skills. The cycle of expectation of failure is a difficult one to break. As teachers expect low academic achievement from minority and disadvantaged students, they provide pro— grams that are notably lacking in motivational techniques and substance that are the key elements in programs more Often presented to more advantaged students with high Success expectations:58 Kontos and Murphy describe the underachieving dis— advantaged high school student in the Cleveland Hough area as follows, In the area's high school, over seven percent of the children were reading below the fourth grade level. Over 40 percent of the tenth graders were reading below a seventh-grade level. The average age of the children in the school was a year and a half older than it should have been. Over one- third of all the students failed at least one 37 58 Eddy, pp. 108-109. Urban Task Force, p. 36. 26 course every semester. School failures here were the rule rather than the exception.59 The controversial study, "Equality of Educational Opportunity," or its more common title, "The Coleman Report," named after its principal author, measured the achievement scores of students' skill in reading, writing, calculating and problem-solving. On all the tests administered, students from minority groups-—Indian, Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans and Blacks--scored substantially below white students. Not only do these students score below the white average in first grade but the disparity either remains the same or widens as each group goes through school.40 As Green points out about the low achievement of black students, children learn, in a sense, to desire fail- ure when the-expectation of teachers or adults is failure.41 James Farmer states the plight of the black child in the inner city school poignantly, "There are, fortunately, a few inspired teachers left, but there are also many who Still believe that their pupils are incapable of learning and that there is therefore no point in working hard."42 Dr. Kenneth Clark studied the IQ and achievement SCNIres of Harlem youngsters from elementary and junior high 8 Chools and concluded: \ 39Peter G. Kontos and James J. Murphy, Teachin Urban Y°\\lt_1_1 (New York: John Wiley 8: Sons, Inc., 1967), p. 4. . 40Table 9, reprinted in Digest 9: Education Statis- 23535 1968. 41 42 Green, p. 155. Rudman, p. 145. PU ...-.\ 27 It is an ironic and tragic inversion of the pur— pose of education that Negro children in ghetto schools tend to lose ground in 1.0. as they pro— ceed through the schools and to fall further and further behind the standard for their grade level in academic performance. The schools are presently damaging the children they exist to help.4 One writer looks at the problems of educating the disadvantaged as a reflection of the entire educational system, The present crisis in the education of poor, minority-group children is holding up a mirror to the educational system as a whole, forcing educa— tors to look more closely at virtually all of their assumptions about learning and teaching. Increasingly, educational theories and practices are being judged on whether they succeed with the urban poor and others who are accounted educational failures. If they do, they will probably be effective with other learners as well. Many writers have pondered the question of "What is it in the schools which promotes failure among poor child— ren?" Merton and of course, Rosenthal and Jacobson's thinking and research,would indicate that the teacher's expectation can and does quite literally affect a student's Performance. When the teacher assumes that she has a class of slow learners or children for whom learning is difficult thenshe is likely to discover that her class learns slowly any: with great difficulty or perhaps even worse, does not learn at all. 43Kenneth B. Clark, Dark Ghetto (New York:Harper and Row, 1965), p. 124. 44Gerald Weinstein and Mario D. Fantini (eds.), Tloward Humanistic Education: 9: Curriculum 933 Affect (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1970), p. 3. 28 As Silberman points out, It is a gross oversimplification, therefore, to attribute the failures of the slum school to lower— class students' inability to understand or unwilling- ness to accept middle-class values. What teachers and administrators communicate to lower-class students, Leacock suggests, in what is perhaps her most useful insight, is not middle—class values but middle-class attitudes toward lower-class peOple and their role in society. The school, she writes, conveys 'a middle-class image of how working-class children are and how they should be--an image which emphasizes obedience, respect and conscientiousness.’ 5 When teachers are confronted with youngsters who appear different, unmotivated, and unclean, a welter of negative feelings (including fear) emerge that initiate a downward spiral of a self-fulfilling prophecy that these children won't be able to do the work. Rosenthal demon- strated this--how teacher attitudes influence expectations and how these expectations can affect performance--in Experiment described in Pygmalion in the Classroom.46 Very few of the poor are given the Opportunity to acquire the education which would enable them to be admit— ted and to achieve in college. The inner-city students are labeled as slow learners and are placed in lower track or general-course curricula in high school. In some slum Sclhools more than three-fourths of the students can be found 1J1 the slower track.47 45Silberman, p. 91. _ 46Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson, Pygmalion 1J1 the Classroom (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 'V568. 47Rudman, p. 42. , .I .U 3.1 b» ‘1. \‘h 29 Many of these students are bored by this watered- down imitation of the academic curriculum and dr0p out of school without receiving the much-needed high school diploma or credentials for any gainful employment. Teacher Frustration Although many pupils from low-income neighborhoods are markedly retarded in fundamental academic subjects, Francis Keppel, former U.S. Commissioner of Education, found that their teachers are not themselves well-prepared to teach these basic subjects. Keppel reported that one- third of the high school English teachers in this country did not major in English and do not consider themselves well- prepared for teaching reading. Perhaps this helps to ex- plain George Spache's contention that of youngsters entering junior high school in some urban districts, as many as 30 percent may not have develOped the reading comprehension skills needed to do school work on that level.48 Not only English teachers are the victims of lack of Preparation for teaching. In mathematics, where learning difficulties are cumulative, more than one—third of all seventh-grade classes are taught by teachers with less than two general courses in college mathematics.49 Surely teachers who are to be effective must know the elements of their subject well. 48Robert D. Strom (ed.), The Inner-City Classroom: Teacher Behaviors (Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merrill Pub- lishing Co., 1966), p. 41. 49lbid. 50 If these children of the nation's cities are to achieve a place of worth and consequence in our country, "Their teachers must be prepared in extraordinary ways to support them."50 Standard education strategies have proven as in— effective in breaking the vicious cycle of educa— tional deprivation as have conventional economics in breaking the vicious cycle of material depriva— tion. Teachers who are committed to the competitive ethic, oriented to the future, and who believe that work in and of itself is a positive good are far different in life style from the children of the poor.52 Even though the inner-city classrooms are populated with children who have not met with success in school, few systems attempt to make any far-reaching changes and cur— rently maintain elements--remoteness of the school adminis- tration, patronizing attitudes of teachers and staff and unimaginative and inapprOpriately trained teachers--which contributed to the students' lack of success.53 In its study of the problems and priorities of urban education the Study Group on Urban Education of the Republi- can Coordinating Committee drew the following conclusion about the quality of teaching in our urban areas: 5O 51 52 Kontos and Murphy, p. 5. Ibid. Green, p. 132. 53Urban Task Force, p. 30. 51 A child is under the influence of his teacher for a continuous period of five hours or more per day, 180 days or more per year . . . . It is apparent that success or failure of an education system will depend most vitally upon the quality of teacher. Yet in urban areas today, because of numerous dif— ficulties the quality of teaching and the pupil- teacher relationship frequently do not meet the needs of the disadvantaged child.54 Significant numbers of large city school systems reported that they were encountering extreme difficulty in filling teaching positions for 1968-69.55 Justified or not, teachers prefer to teach in an integrated school which is predominantly white, rather than in a segregated or inner city school. The fear of walking through the deteriorating neighborhoods and transportation problems between the teacher's home and the inner-city school are two of the reasons some teachers may choose not to accept appointments to inner-city schools or to ask for transfer at the earliest possible time.56 Thirty-four of every 100 teachers appointed to Manhattan schools do not even accept appointment. Selected "difficult" schools have even higher rates of teacher rejection.57 The Hauser study of education in Chicago found inner—city schools to be more overcrowded; employed less 54Urban Task Force, p. 33. 55Ibid. 56Passow, p. 246. 57Ibid. 32 experienced, less educated teachers; and sustained a higher incidence of temporary appointments among staff members as well as a higher rate of faculty turnover than schools in outlying areas.58 When the inner—city schools demand the best from teachers it is indeed tragic that . . . the better teachers prefer to teach in the better neighborhoods and usually manage to be transferred to schools in these neighborhoods, with the result that the classes in the older school buildings are often taught by substitute teachers or by the less skillful teachers of the school system; the continuing inmigration into the segregated Negro neighborhoods causes in- creasingly heavy overcrowding in the schools in those neighborhoods; and the P.T.A.'s are usually less well organized in poor neighborhoods. These many factors combine with others to produce infer— ior schools. The writer recently asked the head of a teacher education department in a southern teachers college whose student body is all black where the less accomplished graduates of that school went to teach. She replied, "Chicago will take all the graduates we have whether highly recommended or barely able to get by." In a study of elementary teachers working in dis— advantaged schools in Michigan, Gerald Martin found that, ". . . in general, teachers prefer to teach eager, well- mannered children from a middle class background."60 58 59Rudman, p. 161. 6OGerald C. Martin, "A Study of the Adequacy of Pro- fessional Preparation for Teaching Disadvantaged Children as Perceived by Selected Elementary Teachers (unpublished Ed.D. dissertation, Michigan State University, 1965), p. 114. Strom, p. 31. 55 The perennial and increasing problem of staffing big city schools is aggravated by teacher dropouts. This attrition problem among new teachers and teachers at all levels of experience seems greater in the inner-city. In Chicago inner—city schools there is a rate.of exit from the teaching profession ten times that of less poverty—stricken areas.61 Of those teachers employed in the inner city a sur- vey taken in the fall of 1968 reveals that fewer have stan- dard certification than in other schools. Of all full—time employed teachers 5.6 percent are not fully certified, but in Chicago 33.9 percent are not fully certified. The same situation exists in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. where the percentages of partially certified teachers is 23.8 and 26 percent.62 Just as children from disadvantaged areas require recognition and attention, so too do the teachers who earnestly attempt to grapple with seemingly impossible problems. Slum schools do not usually bestow recognition, trust and autonomy on their teachers.63 Until quite recently society in general and teacher education institutions in particular have attached little status to working with the disadvantaged. The trend has been that graduate students and the younger, brighter grad- uates have started their careers in suburban systems where 61 Urban Task Force, p. 34. 62Ibid. 63hudman, p. 225. 54 the most effective, experienced teachers have generally elected to teach. Thus the least experienced and least competent graduates have been relegated to the cities, further reinforcing the view of the ghetto schools as inferior.64 Teachers may still misunderstand the handicaps of disadvantaged youth as they did in the late 1950's when a number of teachers in the New York public school system told white student interviewers that Negro children are inherently inferior in intelligence and therefore cannot be expected to learn as.much or as readily as white child— ren.65 This unfortunate situation has had a particularly tragic impact on the Negro student who is more likely today than the suburban student to be taught by a teacher who 1) scored slightly lower on a verbal exam and 2) attended a college which gives less than a regular teaching certi- ficate.66 When the teacher is far from his students in terms of their background and culture, and is conscious of his own lack of status as awarded by society for teaching the disadvantaged, the teacher is inclined to develop a set of defenses which distort his perceptions of his students.67 64 65 66 Urban Task Force, p. 35. Clark, p. 27. Urban Task Force, p. 35. 67l229- 55 While administrators condemn the instability of the families and the neighborhoods in slum areas of the city, the educators themselves with their own high rate of turnover in the inner-city might themselves be so labeled. In some cases each year there is a 30 to 50 percent attri- tion in a school staff.68 Why do teachers leave the inner- city schools? Most reasons given by teachers fall into three categories according to Cuban. Teachers leave be- cause they 1) consider the children unreachable and unteach— able, 2) feel the school structure is ineffectual to COpe with their problems and 3) sense their personal inadequa— cies.69 In contrast to the shortcomings of inner—city teachers presented previously, Strom writes that some of the "finest teaching in this country is being done by dedi- cated instructors who choose to work among the disadvan- taged."7O Even though the literature does not treat slum school teachers very kindly in that they are subjected to undue criticism and censure which their rural and suburban counterparts escape, some do excel in their classrooms and remain dedicated to teaching the disadvantaged. However, the publicity given to city schools may result in new teachers assigned to inner-city classrooms envisioning the 68Cuban, p. 51. 69Cuban, p. 52. 7OStrom, p. 30. 36 prospect of confronting divergent social-behavioral norms, a large number of atypical children with special learning problems and picturing the classroom as a type of black- board jungle where the major function of the teacher is maintaining order or babysitting.71 Teacher candidates express more apprehension about discipline in the classroom than any other aspect of in- struction regardless of the type of teaching situation they are expecting to serve. In.a recent study of 78 elementary teachers, most indicated that discipline was their major classroom difficulty.72 Usually pupil misbehavior is con— fined to interruption or inconvenience, although frustration and failure are sometimes produced. Restraint of physical violence has rarely been necessary up to now, but recent reports from the larger cities of New York, Detroit and Chicago indicate that pupil attacks on teachers and other students have resulted in some schools requesting policemen to be stationed in their halls to deter further incidents.73 Students in the cities have a right to expect that their teachers will understand and appreciate their cultural heritage, their socioeconomic problems and their individual life styles as well as possess a positive attitude toward their learning ability. Teachers need to be able to make use of the students' varying values even though they may 71 72Strom, p. 36. 730 h) Strom, p. 51. trom, p. 37. 57 differ from the teacher's values. If a comprehensive education plan directed toward the needs of the disadvan- taged child is to be effective, then teacher training pro- grams must concentrate on changing the attitudes of teachers and preparing them to effectively employ new ideas and educational materials quite different from those which might be used in a typical suburban school.74 The Preparation of Teachers in General The re-making of American public education so that the disadvantaged child will indeed have equality of Oppor- tunity for meaningful work and realization of his potential— ities will necessitate a change in the way teachers are prepared. Teachers for the inner city need either a different program of college preparation or a better program as not only difficulties in teacher recruitment for the inner city but also the high rates of teacher turnover in slum schools in nearly every urban complex testify to a lack of satis- faction and a lack of feeling of accomplishment on the part of the new teacher.75 Don Davies, Associate Commissioner, United States Office of Education, calls for different preparation of teachers by citing the recent report, "The Education Professions, l969-70," as follows: 74Urban Task Force, pp. 47-48. 75Strom, p. 32. 38 . . . particularly for low-income children, our schools and colleges have barely begun to meet basic staffing needs. An underlying reason for low pupil achievement in urban poverty area schools is inadequate and unrealistic teacher training which leaves beginning teachers with false, rigid values, an inability to change methods and materials to meet the needs of the children, and an insensitivity, to these child- ren as individuals. A majority of the teachers serving low-income children are young, inexper- ienced, and poorly prepared for the culture shock of entering a classroom filled with these children. Approximately 40 percent of the teachers would prefer to be in a school other than the one in which they teach; more than 20 percent prefer teaching white pupils.7 Other educators recognize the need for special training for the teacher in the cities' schools. In evaluating the problems facing higher education. Dr. Clifton Wharton, President of Michigan State University commented, The challenges . . . (for higher education) are more human than technological and more urban than rural. . . . Among these . . . making the colleges of education more relevant for the teacher who will work in the inner city and the urban centers.77 Regarding the lack of attention to the training of teachers for the disadvantaged, Robert L. Green wrote about the situation in Michigan in particular in 1968, Consider the state of Michigan. Although the city of Detroit and several other large urban communities have a high percentage of disadvantaged youth, the 76Don Davies, "The Teacher Numbers Game," The Educa- tion Digest XXXVI (January, 1971), p. 2. 77Harry G. Salsinger, "Clifton Wharton's First Year," Change III (January-February, 1971), p. 22. 59 three largest teacher-training institutions in the state offer very few courses that are speci- fically oriented toward teaching disadvantaged youth. One large teacher-training institution in the state does not have one course of this kind on the undergraduate level. When a pros— pective teacher has completed four years of the elementary education curriculum at these institu- tions, he may be quite unprepared to work with disadvantaged children and to handle their indi- vidual combinations of emotional problems and achievement blocks. To compound the problem, many new teachers are first assigned to schools that can be classified as economically and educa- tionally disadvantaged.78 Teacher educators need to realize that our tradi- tional teacher training programs at the undergraduate level have not and apparently cannot prepare teachers to work effectively with disadvantaged young peOple. Such programs, liberal arts, subject matter and methodology, are doing a more than adequate job of preparing teachers to work with students who are identified with middle-class culture. But these teachers are not adequately prepared to accept the Value system, the culture or the world of the disadvantaged and thus do not accept the disadvantaged child.79 Early History of the DevelOpment of Teacher Education In the United States the historical beginning of teacher preparation for working with disadvantaged children and youth is closely connected with the beginnings of all 78Rudman, p. 191. 79Bruce W. Tuckman, Preparing £3 Teach the Dis— advantaged (New York: Coller-Macmillan Limited, 1969), p. T67. PC Any CI \ u s\\ 4O teacher education. The first attempts at formal teacher education as such can be traced to a recognition of the need to prepare adequately the children of the poor, the immigrants and the freed slaves.80 The earliest recorded example of large—scale, organ- ized teacher preparation in this country was the use of the Lancastrian system by the Free School Society of New York City in 1805. Established by the mayor, De Witt Clinton and other citizens, its purpose was to educate "such poor children as do not belong to, or are not provided for, by any religious society."81 The first state normal schools were established in New England around 1840 and after the Civil War, a few mid- western universities created departments of education. Teacher Preparation in the Universities Teacher education in the United States is a gigantic enterprise. Public colleges and universities account for the bulk of the teacher preparation. As many as forty—two percent of freshmen entering public four-year colleges and universities in the fall of 1967 were planning to go into elementary or secondary teaching.82 The typical pattern in the university is that only students planning to teach at the elementary level major in 80Klopf and Bowman, pp. 12-13. 81Ibid. 82Silberman, p. 575. 41 education and/or register in the school of education. Students planning to teach at the secondary level typi— cally major in an academic subject and register in the apprOpriate liberal arts college or department although they are generally required to take some specified minimum number of courses in the department or school of education.855 Conant found that the typical university preparation program for elementary teachers consisted of general educa- tion, professional courses, methods courses and practice teaching.84 Students planning to teach at the secondary level typically carry a prOgram consisting of the above require- ments for elementary teaching but with a teaching major and minors. Woodring summarized the situation of teacher prepar- ation as follows: Today, however, there is widespread agreement that any sound program for teacher education must include: a substantial program of general or lib— eral education, representing not less than two years of work beyond high school; a knowledge of the subject or subjects to be taught . . . a knowledge of the contributions of philosophy, history, psychology, and the other social and behavioral sciences to an understanding of the place of the school in the social order and the process of learning; and a period of practice teaching or an extended internship during which time the prospective teacher tries out various 83Silberman, p. 376. 84James B. Conant, The Education 3f American Teachers (New York: McGraw Hill Paperback, 1965), p. 155. fl ,‘ 'V ‘ .d If w.‘ 42 methods of teaching under competent super- vision.85 Laboratory Experiences in Teacher Education Most universities and other teacher training in- stitutions have courses in psychology, human growth and development, introduction to teaching or teaching and learning theory, general problems in education and methods courses. Observation and participation in public schools may be required as part of these courses. Stiles and Parker found a growing emphasis on pre-practice teaching laboratory or clinical experiences which might begin with a freshman tutorial program and continue through volunteer work with community agencies and teacher-aide experiences in schools.86 Historically, the student teaching or practice— teaching experience has been an integral part of teacher training. Sinclair found that supervised teaching was a part of the teacher training programs of the early normal schools.87 Stiles and Parker found an "unprecedented out- pouring of publications about student teaching and intern— ship," as well as continued strong positive support for the importance of student teaching from college students and teachers. 85Paul Woodring, "Century of Teacher Education," School and Society, IX (May, 1962), pp. 242. d6Lindley J. Stiles and Robert P. Parker, "Teacher Education Programs," Engyclopedia g: Educational Research, (New York: McMillan Company, I969), p. 1417. 87Ward w. Sinclair, "An Analysis of Three Pre— Student Teaching Experiences in the Preparation of Elemen- tary Teachers," (unpublished EiD. thesis, Michigan State University, 1961), p. 13. 45 Martin defines and describes the different kinds of student teaching experiences commonly available in colleges and universities, Off campus student teaching can be divided at least two ways-~part-time vs full-time and regular vs internship. A part-time student teacher is one who is in the public school for a portion of the day and is on campus for classes the rest of the time. A full-time student teacher is one who is in the public school all day every day. Any college classes taken by the full-time student teacher must come at a time other than the regular school day. The regular student teacher program may include both part—time and full-time student teaching but differs from the internship program in that the interns take the place of the teacher and are paid for their teaching. All of the above types are jointly super- vised by university and local personnel. The amount and degree of supervision varies depending on the personnel and the school system.88 Most of the student teaching experiences are found in schools enrolling a majority of students from white middle—class backgrounds even though a small number of prospective teachers still teach in campus laboratory schools. Neither of these two settings provide relevant experiences for the prospective inner-city teacher. If teachers are to be better prepared to know the disadvantaged child, then student teaching assignments will need to be opened in the inner-city schools. White student teachers will need assignments in pre- dominantly black schools for obviously, . . . for a number of years to come, some blacks will continue to be educated by white peOple, 88Martin, p. 87. 44 particularly when they live in integrated housing patterns. Such pupils will desper- ately need teachers who have been taught to understand and accept them as human beings and who are sensitive enough to the essence of black culture and the black experience to help black children appreciate themselves and their people. The typical curriculum of the college may or may not inform and influence the prospective teacher about the pro- blems and relevant issues of depressed urban areas. These children and their neighborhoods have unique problems that one does not usually encounter in Psychological Foundations I or in student teaching in a suburban area.90 Davies and Amershek cite the Civil Rights Movement as an example of an important factor which is having an 91 As yet school integration impact on student teaching. has not produced a corresponding change in teacher education programs in that few Negro or white students have Opportun— ities to observe or student—teach in integrated classrooms. Student teaching follows the time-honored concept in teacher education "that practice in actual situations should supplement the studies one pursues at college."92 89Green, p. 69. 90Passow, p. 247. 91Don Davies and Kathleen Amershek, "Student Teach- ing," EncycloBedia of Educational Research, Fourth Edition (New York: McMillan Company, 1969), p. 1577. 923. Othanel Smith, Saul B. Cohen and Arthur Pearl, Teachers for the Real World (Washington: American Association of CBIIeges for Teacher Education, 1969), p. 68. 45 If teacher training institutions are serious about pre- paring teachers, then experience in inner—city schools becomes imperative as many teachers will find themselves in urban centers because of their own personal mobility and the trend in pOpulation growth. However, mere exposure to disadvantaged children and their neighborhoods is not enough in that the teacher won't be shocked by their dif- ferences from the middle-class children and neighborhoods he knows, but there is no assurance that exposure will bring understanding and insight to teaching. A training prOgram for teachers of the disadvantaged should develop the following abilities to: l. perform stimulant operations (question, struc- ture, probe) 2. manipulate the different kinds of knowledge 3. perform reinforcement Operations 4. negotiate interpersonal relations 5. diagnose student needs and learning difficulties 6. communicate and empathize with students, parents and others 7. perform in and with small and large groups 8. utilize technological equipment 9. evaluate student achievement 10. judge appropriateness of instructional mater- ials. Student teaching, an essential component of teacher preparation, will not provide these skills without a training component emphasizing these goals. For the beginning teacher, the training program should introduce the teacher to the deprived communities and to the schools as well as increase 93Smith 23 51;, p. 71. 46 his skill in classroom work and in his interactions with parents, faculty and other members of the community. Colleges and universities have begun to realize that they have been preparing peOple to teach only in mid- dle-class schools. As educators.have become aware of this, they have made several changes in teacher education programs to better prepare teachers. Special Programs for Preparing to Teach the Disadvantaged Universities apparently recognize the need for im- proved teaching in the inner-city schools but as late as 1967 few had incorporated their recognition into action. Two Hundred eighty-one colleges and universities in 17 southern and border states, including Washington, D. C., responded in the affirmative to the question, "Should teacher training institutions have a special responsibility to help improve the education of the disadvantaged?" How— ever, when asked whether their institution had made any changes in curriculum, faculty, course offerings or metho— dology specifically to improve the preparation of new teachers for the disadvantaged, 58 percent said they had not; 26 percent did not answer and the remainder indicated that they had made some changes.94 More than a year before the universities responded to their role in improving education of the disadvantaged, the American Association of School Administrators' Commis- sion on Imperatives in Education identified nine points on 94Southern Education Report, April, 1967, p.13. 47 which the educational programs of American schools had to be revised if they were to be adequate for dealing with contemporary problems. They are: l. To make urban life satisfying and rewarding. . To prepare peOple for the world of work. . To discover and nurture creative talent. . To strengthen the moral fabric of society. . To deal constructively with psychological tensions. To keep democracy working. To make intelligent use of natural resources. . To make the best use of leisure time. 9. To work with other peOples of the world for human betterment.95 (JO-slow UMP-WM However, nationally the picture is not as bleak as the survey of the southern and border states indicates. In 1963, 200 colleges had in Operation or were preparing to operate programs related to teaching disadvantaged children 96 A later sur— but most of these were on the graduate level. vey taken in 1967 of 128 colleges and universities who reported to AACTE that they had special programs for pre- paring teachers of the disadvantaged revealed that only eight institutions started totally new programs.97 As late as 1969, Davies wrote that, "One of the new— est areas of concern in student teaching is in programs of urban education. Most of the reported work centers on pro- gram descriptions and prOposals for competencies needed to 95American Association of School Administrators, Imperatives ig Education (Washington: National Education Association, 1966). 96 97 Davies, p. 1384. Miller, p. 102. 48 teach disadvantaged children."98 When universities and school systems join efforts to prepare teachers for the disadvantaged inner—city class- rooms, progress in retaining teachers can be seen. In 1966, the New York City Board of Education was faced with the prospect of not having enough teachers to cover all its classes. The Board contracted with the City University of New York to Offer intensive teacher-preparation courses to college graduates during the summer and to follow with a seminar conducted on the problems of teaching in the fall. The joint screening committee accepted 2,100 applicants. Of the 2,100 recruits, 1,771 accepted appointments and nine months later, approximately 1,600 of these specially trained teachers still held full-time teaching assignments.99 Not all university and school system OOOperative ventures have met with success. One project involving the Clinic for Learning at New York University's School of Education and a junior high school in a slum area of New York City and another involving Antioch College in Ohio and the Morgan Elementary School in Washington, D. C. ended with angry feelings on both sides and a sense of frustration for university personnel, public school personnel, parents and students.100 98Davies, p. 1384. 99BOard of Education Intensive Teacher Training Pro- gram, mimeographed (New York Board of Education, 1967). 100Rudman, p. 59. teacher taged, l. 2. 49 Klopf and Bowman recommend that when considering a training program for the inner-city and disadvan- That there be joint planning by institutions of higher learning, school systems and the disad— vantaged themselves. That racial and ethnic integration be a reality at all levels of Operation: staff, participants and pupils in the practicum. That there be Openness to new ideas at various levels: administrative, teaching, community agencies, and family. That flexibility of program develOpment be in- creased without detriment to goals and standards. That the approach be two-fold: first to seek understanding of the disadvantaged, and to give assistance in translating such understandings into teaching behavior. That more emphasis be placed upon developing and utilizing new instructional strategies and mater- ials which have special reference to the disad- vantaged. That instructional content stress teaching as related to personality variables of pupil affective aspects of learning, analysis of the special diagnostic competence required for teaching disadvantaged children and youth, as well as the foundations of social and behavioral sciences. That programs of individual and group counseling help develop ego strength in participants. That evaluation be an integral part of every pro- gram.101 Tuckman and O'Brien feel that the teachers of dis- advantaged youth need some particular personal character— istics. 1. These include: A personality that permits him to deal with non- conforming behavior without damaging physical or psychological punitive measures. 101K10pf and Bowman, p. 121. 2. 3. 4. 50 A diSposition that permits continued support in spite of failures and obstacles. Possession of a warm stable personality. Possession of a sense of worth, and ideals and values that are in consonance with the objectives of the schools.102 Besides the personality characteristics cited above, Tuckman sees the following as being imperative for a teacher of the disadvantaged: l. 2. 5. He must be exposed to a broad range of social sciences and their contribution and relation to his problems must be made manifest. He must learn new techniques that are appro— priate for the students he will face. He must be liberal-minded and willing to work in the face of adversity to help students who need help but Often will not show their "thanks." He must be an innovator rather than a follower. He must be exposed to a range of new environ- ments, both social and educational. He must be willing to accept only minimal success and continue in the face of apparent failure. He must become a student of the subculture he will be working in. 103 He must empathize with his students. Leacock's study of teaching styles in low-income white and black schools led her to call for improvement in the education of teachers in three specific areas: 1. Clarification of ideas involved in the "culture of poverty concept. Reinterpretation to exclude traditional middle-class stereotypes of lower- class inabilities. Substitution of the under- standing that life styles involve coping mech- anisms, resulting from the sheer weight of 102 105E Tuckman, p. xix. leanor B. Leacock, Teaching and Learning in City Schools (New York: Basic Books, 1969), p. 208. 51 Oppression and deprivation, but do not consti- tute the content of the "life style," "culture," or "value system" itself. Clearer insight into "middle-class values" and the nature of the cliche' the phrase has become. Opening again the question of what, in fact, these values are and adopting a more critical attitude toward the implication that, however defined, the phrase implies it to be something complete and entirely desirable and in its present form not to be questioned. ReCOgnition of the fact that some of the "new" ideas about how to educate low-income children are little more than a rediscovery of Dewey. Following from this is the awareness (helpful in eliminating a "do—gooder" attitude) that insights gained from research into learning problems of low-income children can lead to needed impanvements in education for all children. 4 The Urban Task Force emphasized in their report that programs for the develOpment of personnel for inner-city schools 1. 2. 5. should include: the acquisition of apprOpriate attitudes and strategies for working with inner—city students preparation for process-centered learning rather than textbook-centered learning the full utilization of the life experiences of the students as significant content for process learning techniques for involving community residents and other resources in the educative process flexible and maximal use of education settings—- regular, school, street, etc.107 To be effective, teacher training programs directed toward the needs of the disadvantaged child must concentrate 104 105 Leacock, p. 208. Urban Task Force, p. 47. 52 on changing the attitudes of teachers and preparing them to effectively employ new ideas and educational materials quite different from those used in the typical suburban school. The Urban Task Force recommended the passage of an Urban Education Act which would fund specific types of teacher training programs to accomplish these objectives.106 Teachers of the disadvantaged will need to under— stand the classroom situation where there are multiple problems of language develOpment, varying social norms, habits not formerly accepted by the teacher, behavior which is not success-oriented, lack of student "OOOperation," and achievement levels well below that expected for that grade 107 level. Not only will the teacher need to understand the children, but he will need to accept these characteristics as "different" rather than as inferior. Leacock wrote, . . . what we observed in the classroom was not the attempt to "impose middle-class goals" on the children, but rather a tacit assumption that these goals were not Open to at least the vast majority of them. The "middle—class values" being imposed on the low income Negro children dEfined—them as inadequate and their proper role as one of defer- ence. Despite the fact that some teachers in the low—income schools stated their felt responsibility to set "middle—class standards" for the children, their lowered expectations were expressed by a low emphasis on goal—setting statements altogether. In a three-hour period, clear—cut overt goal- setting statements numbered 12 and 13 for the 106Urban Task Force, p. 48. 107Passow, p. 246. 55 low-income Negro school, 15 and 18 for the low— income white school, and 43 and 46 for the middle- income white school.1 When inner-city students are from a minority group and are compared with middle-class age, grade-level suburban counterparts, the results are inevitably negative with the inner-city student being described as deficient in verbal ability, reading achievement, marketable economic skills, and social skills. The strengths or positive characteristics of the inner-city child are almost never considered—-his pride, his tough pragmatic problem—solving, his resilience in the face of economic uncertainties, his personal loyalty to his group, his sense of humor and candor or lack of hypocrisy. Prospective teachers need to be aware of the strengths and positive characteristics of the disadvantaged, too. Green has written that as yet there is not . . . a systematic review of the kinds of approaches thatimay be used in re-training experienced teachers, in training prospective teachers, and in coordinating the role of higher education with the school system on the teacher education scene. Some colleges are attempting to institute new courses on the sociology, psychology and anthrOpology of the disadvantaged, particularly the minority groups. These revisions or additions may be in various departments or they may be in the department of education. 108Leacock, p. 205. 109Green, p.139. 54 Strom points out that teachers of the disadvantaged overlook the strengths on which they could build in the classroom because of lack of knowledge about the children and their culture. Many Opportunities for teaching and guidance are forfeited because we lack understanding regarding the customs, mores, and values that govern behavior; the mechanism through which slum children can most be influenced; the structure and Operation of powerful peer groups; the indigenous system of incentives that affect motivation and discipline; the educational strengths emerging from life in an extended family; the real causes underlying academic difficulty;the potential support for elements of education in the home; and the manner and media for communication with parents.110 The following purposes are commonly cited in the design of urban teacher preparation programs: 1. To devise a learning experience which not only prepares the prospective teacher academically, but also provides him with the insights and understanding necessary to OOpe successfully with children from the lower socioeconomic stratum of society.111 2. To produce a program that would provide the teacher with a repertory of skills, knowledge, understanding and attitudes that would enable him to work successfully with youth with special needs.1 3. To prepare good beginning teachers who will know what to do and how to do it when they start to teach.115 110Strom, p. 33. 111Ward Sinclair, "Teacher Preparation for Urban Schools," School and Sociepy (October 12, 1968), pp. 339-340. 112Tuckman, p. 171. 113Michael and Frederick Bertolaet, Teachers for the Disadvantaged (Chicago: Follet Publishing Company, 19667, p. 60. 55 4. To prepare people who can and will fit into and survive in schools as they exist. At the same time, equip them with skills as change agents so that they will be ready and able to innovate.11 5. To recruit, prepare, and retain a large number of students who will be successful beginning teachers.115 6. To help students gain cultural and historical insight that will lead to more effective com- munication with poor people and minority groups; to give students an understanding and apprecia- tion of the minority groups' culture; to focus on minority group children and adults in a changing urban setting; to guide students in investigating the minority child's cognitive and affective experiences, his assets, his needs, the strengths and weaknesses of his culture, and the resources of his community; to stimulate students in their professional setting to dis- cover creative and innovative techniques that will improve the learning experiences of child- ren and adults.1 A survey117 conducted in Spring, 1970, of the col— leges and universities which have programs for preparing teachers for the disadvantaged revealed the following gener- alizations about their programs. Most of the programs were designed with the urban teacher and the inner-city classroom environment as the focus of the program with the exception of a few prOgrams for teaching American Indians. 114Phi Delta Kappan, (September, 1969), P° 36' 115Usdan, p. 76. 116Donald Smith and Nancy Arnez, "Inner City Studies: Graduate Training for Teaching the Disadvantaged," Journal 2f Teacher Education XX (Fall, 1969), p. 548. 117Marilyn Zenti, "Programs of Teacher Education for those Preparing to Teach the Educationally and Culturally Disadvantaged," (unpublished paper), Western Michigan Univer- sity, 1970. 56 Fordham University's program has as its goal to make the beginning teacher so successful in his first years and to find such satisfaction in teaching that he will become a career teacher steadily growing in skill, insight, and effective- ness; to broaden the commitment to urban education in the area of pre—service training; to assist those now teaching who have not yet completed the requirements for New York State provisional certi- fication.118 Wheelock College's Institute in Special Education: Therapeutic Tutoring Project has as its stated purpose: "to prepare teachers to work more effectively with economically disadvantaged and emotionally disturbed children."119 The Proposed Pre—Service Teacher Education Program for Elementary Teachers of Disadvantaged Youth at Ball state University has as its purpose: to develOp competent beginning teachers of the dis- advantaged; to provide learning experiences which aid in develOping the necessary skills, understand— ings, and attitudes all good teachers need in addition to specialized learnings necessary for working with disadvantaged children.120 Thirteen liberal arts colleges in Missouri and Kan— sas, the public schools of Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas and the Mid-continent Regional Educational Laboratory teamed together in the COOperative Urban Teacher Education PrOgram with the stated purpose to prepare the teacher who will: 118 119 120 Zenti, p. 69. Zenti, p. 72. Zenti, p. 75- 57 l. understand both his own and his pupils' atti- tudes, insecurities, anxieties, and prejudices; 2. understand both his own and his pupils' environ- ment and culture; 3. be knowledgeable of and competent in reflective teaching methods for inner-city learners.12 Central Missouri State College's Inner City Teacher Education Project has-the central purpose of "helping students acquire a better understanding of the culturally different child and the environment in which he functions."122 The Teacher Corps program at the University of North Dakota and the Black Hills State College and the Indian Education Program at the University of North Dakota work "to strengthen educational opportunities available to child- ren in low income areas of Indian reservations and to broaden teacher preparation prOgrams at the two schools.123 It is interesting to note that the location of the university in an urban area does not necessarily mean there will be a well—develOped program in preparing teachers for the inner-city as one finds urban education programs in small state colleges and universities in small towns of middle America. In describing the choice of prOgrams uni- versities offer to prospective teachers, Lutz writes, Historically, at least, any causal relationship between urban education and a school of education's special commitment to problems of urban education could not be presumed. One was more likely to find courses on city school administration at the Univer- sity of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, than at the 121Zenti, p. 75. 122Zenti, p. 77 123Zenti, pp. 79—80. 58 University of Chicago. . . . Harvard has fixed its gaze firmly towards Newton and Concord rather than towards Boston or, down its nose, towards Cambridge. Washington University in St. Louis has traditionally attracted more students from St. Louis County and the bootheel of Missouri than from the city itself. Life in the faculty apartments of Teachers College, Columbia Univer- sity . . . was more like a small town in Iowa than any place in Iowa itself. Today one finds a research and development center on urban teaching in the pastoral environs of the University of Wisconsin in Madison. From Yellow Springs, Ohio, Antioch College establishes graduate seminars on urban teaching in Putney, Vermont, and sponsors a model subdistrict amidst the Washington, D. C. schools. In the twin cities of Champagne and Urbana, the University of Illinois pursues new approaches for teaching pre—school slum children and interdisciplinary programs in the communication patterns of urban minorities. While many institutions located in metropolitan areas also demonstrate a current interest in urban education, the quick availabilityvof live labora- tories and even the presence of qualified faculty members guarantees no monopoly in the field.1 Most of the current programs for preparing teachers for the disadvantaged involve providing the prospective teacher with an orientation to the disadvantaged students and their neighborhoods through firsthand experiences in community agencies serving the poor. These contacts may be supplemented by seminars in which the issues of poverty are explored and the problems of disadvantaged youth are investi- gated. Prospective teachers are also brought into contact with disadvantaged students in the classroom setting by working as a tutor prior to student teaching or working as a teacher aide.125 124Frank W. Lutz, Toward Improved Urban Education (California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1970), pp. 307- 308. 125Smith, p. 67. 59 Frank Riessman has designed a program for teachers of the disadvantaged which has five major aspects: 1. Building teacher respect for the disadvantaged child. 2. Supplying teacher experiences with the disad— vantaged. 3. A knowledge of general do's and don'ts in teaching the urban poor. 4. Teaching technology for low income youngsters. 5. The development of a variety of teacher styles through integrating other parts of the plan with the idiosyncratic potential of each teacher.126 The curriculum in programs for preparing to teach the disadvantaged range from the regular curriculum with empha— sis on teaching the disadvantaged to specific additions of classes to the teacher education curriculum. These courses have titles such as, Education of the Inner-City Child, Education of the Slow Learner,Big City Experience, Practicum in the Sociology of the Inner City, Children and Youth in Urban Schools and Education of the Disadvantaged. The COOperative Urban Teacher Education Program spells out in greater detail than most other programs the major concepts studied in preparing to teach the disadvan— taged. They are: 1. Focus and Function of the Teacher 2. Assumptions Regarding the Teaching-Learning Process 3. Analytical Study of Teaching 4. Developing Teaching Strategies 5. Developing Sensitivity to Pupil Reactions 6. Developing Pupil Responsibility 126Frank Riessman, "Teachers of the Poor: A Five Point Plan," Journal of Teacher Education (Fall, 1967), .54 “00034 o o o o O mam—5.; mm-bvlm o o O o O 60 Reaching Tentative Conclusions Major Concepts and Activities in Sociology Social Organization of the School Nature of the Low-income Community Developing Teaching Strategies for Inner-city Schools Sociological Assumptions of Teaching Social and Psychological Problems Major Concepts and Activities in Mental Health Student.as a Prospective Teacher 127 Increasing Understanding of Pupils. The Education Program for Elementary Teachers of Disadvantaged Youth at Ball State University has the fol— lowing curriculum guidelines which should help the prospec- tive teacher 1. 2. 10. by providing Opportunities for self under- standing as it relates to teaching; by providing all kinds of educational exper— iences with an emphasis upon direct exper- iences which aid in preparing prospective teachers mentally, attitudinally, and emotion— ally to teach disadvantaged children; understand the effects of deprivation, poverty, prejudice and minority group status; understand the present and potential strengths of disadvantaged students; develop skill in the use of diagnostic and cor- rective techniques; develop in children greater sensitivity, per— ceptivity, and awareness of their surroundings; develop skills in establishing and maintaining positive teacher—community relations; develop skills in advancing the needed language skills of students; develOp skills in selecting and adapting curri- culum apprOpriate to the needs of the students; (Prospective teachers should have skill in the selection and use of multimedia which induces curiosity and strengthens understanding.) develop skills in organizing the classroom for effective learning.) 8 127Zenti, p. 76. 128 Zenti, p. 75. 61 The field experiences in the programs surveyed by Zenti vary from visits of one or two days to inner-city schools to programs which begin with individual tutoring in the classroom, continue with home visits, conferences with personnel from public and private agencies serving the poor, working as a teacher's aide in the classroom for a few hours each week, working as a teacher's assistant for a half-day each day of the school week, apprentice teaching to full-time student teaching in an inner—city school. The programs for preparing to teach the disadvan— taged also vary in length of time spent in the prOgram. The shortest programs are for one term (15 weeks) of the sopho- more or junior year to a full four-year course of study. The staff serving the programs for preparing to teach the disadvantaged are as varied as the programs themselves. Some employ regular staff from the school of education while others bring in specialists in mental health, sociol- ogy, reading, research and medicine to supplement the regular teacher educators. Most programs employ the assistance, whether on a consultant basis or in a COOperative rela— tionship, of veteran teachers, counselors, and administra- tors in the inner-city schools. Part of the difficulty of designing and Operating a program for preparing teachers for the disadvantaged is that teacher educators have lacked the knowledge and the experience of working with disadvan- taged youngsters in the public schools. 62 Although many colleges and universities have esta- blished special programs for preparing teachers for the disadvantaged, evaluation of the success of these programs has been meager. Each program seems unique to the insti- tution with seeming few attempts to use the best components Of other successful programs. Some.appear to have been planned and organized hurriedly because of the demands of the local community without the joint planning of the school personnel, families of the poor, students and teacher educators. Perhaps this might explain the lack of research about the outcomes of the programs. CHAPTER THREE HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF THE PROGRAM History The one semester program for undergraduates, "Pre- paing to Teach the Disadvantaged," was initiated at Western Michigan University as a result of the interest and support of several members of the faculty and administration in better preparing teachers to cope with the problems of teaching youngsters from economically and educationally disadvantaged homes. Western Michigan University does not have an urban tradition located as it is in Kalamazoo, a city of 80,000 in a county of 200,000 but the institution does have staff who were interested in inner-city teaching problems as early as the late 1950's. After World War II it was regular practice to include units in Education 450, "School and Society," on socioeconomic factors influencing learning as well as discussion about black-white relation- ships.1 For the past two years Western Michigan University has been listed by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education as the second largest producer of teachers 1Personal interview with Dr.A. L. Sebaly, Director of Student Teaching, Western Michigan University, February 23, 1971. 65 64 in the United States.2 Calls for elementary and secondary teachers have been received by the Career Planning and Placement Office at the University from school districts in urban centers as well as those in suburban, small town and rural settings.3 Graduates of Western Michigan Univer- sity have accepted teaching positions in the inner—city and recent graduates as well as teachers working toward permanent certification have returned to the campus and conferred with Dr. James Griggs, former Dean of the College of Education, and other faculty about their own difficulties in teaching disadvantaged children and adolescents.4 The first recorded evidence of interest by Western Michigan University faculty in programs for training teachers for the disadvantaged was in October, 1962, when Dr. A. L. Sebaly, Director of Student Teaching, requested assistance from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education in designing a program for the preparation of teachers for large metrOpolitan areas with high concentrations 2James H. Griggs, Western Michigan University School of Education Final Annual Report, l969—l97O (unpublished paper) July, I9705,p. 26. 3Robert D. Hellenga, Preliminary Report l969-70, Career Planning and Placement—Office, WesterngMic igan University. 4Personal interview with Dr. James Griggs, former Dean of the Collegeoof Education, Western Michigan University, February 16, 1971. 65 5 of lower socioeconomic groups. Dr. Sebaly followed his request for assistance with a visit in January, 1963, to Hunter College and Syracuse University to study their pro- grams for preparing teachers for the disadvantaged.6 Other staff members and Dean Griggs discussed informally various plans for pilot and experimental programs for preparing teachers and administrators for the disadvantaged but these proposals are not recorded and apparently did not proceed beyond the discussion stage at this time.7 However, in the fall of 1965, Dr. Gerald Martin returned to the campus after spending an internship with the Mott Community Education program in Flint, Michigan. Dr. Martin's dissertation, "A Study of the Adequacy of Professional Preparation for Teaching Disadvantaged Children as Perceived by Selected Elementary Teachers," had been com— pleted in the summer of 1965. Dr. Martin interested other faculty members at Western Michigan Universty in discussion about specific programs and proposals for making teacher preparation more relevant for inner—city teachers.8 In 5Letter to Dr. Richard Lawrence, Associate Secretary, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, October 30,1962. A OOpy of this letter may be found in the Appendix of this study. 6Letter to Dr. Herbert Schueler, Director of Teacher Education, Hunter College, January 21, 1963. A COpy of this letter may be found in the Appendix of this study. 7Personal interview with Dr. James Griggs, February 16, 1971. 8Personal interview with Dr. George Miller, Febru- ary 15, 1971. 66 addition, while in Flint Dr. Martin encouraged another Mott Intern, Jess Walker, to apply for a teaching position in the School of Education at Western Michigan University. Dr. Martin made the arrangements for Mr. Walker's interview with Dean Griggs, and Mr. Walker recalled that much of the discussion during the interview centered on rationale for preparing teachers for the disadvantaged in approaches dif- ferent from traditional teacher education programs.9 Jess Walker joined the faculty in the fall of 1965, and brought his strong interest in the education of the disadvantaged to Western Michigan University's School of Education. A summer institute in 1965 and 1966 for training teachers and assistants for Headstart programs was the first experience that Western Michigan University faculty had in preparing teachers for the disadvantaged. Dr. Sara Swickard, assisted by Mrs. Mary Cain and Mrs. Roberta Westra Alexander, directed these two summer institutes. Another summer pro- gram in 1966 headed by Dr. Fred Bailey brought lOO Upward Bound students to the campus of Western Michigan University in an attempt to redirect them into becoming more useful and productive citizens by making them aware of the possibilities 10 of a college education. Western Michigan University also held the contract with U. S. Industries, Inc. to Operate 9Personal interview with Mr.Jess Walker, February 23, 1971. 10James H. Griggs, Annual Report, 1965-1966, p. 15. 67 the academic program in the Job Corps Center at Fort Custer in 1965. These involvements heightened staff interest in problems of educating the children of the poor. The development of the Master of Arts program for "Preparing to Teach the Economically and Educationally disadvantaged," the forerunner Of the undergraduate pro- gram, resulted from a change in the operation of Western Michigan University. In the fall of 1965-66, the Univer- sity changed its schedule from a two semester, one summer session calendar to a modified trimester program. The new calendar-academic year consisted of two fifteen week terms and a seven and one-half week Spring Session and a seven and one-half week Summer Session. At the same time the Univer- sity High School was closed and the Campus Elementary School was scheduled to be closed in 1969. These two changes brought a serious problem for the directors and administrators of Pretty Lake Camp, a summer residential camp sponsored by service clubs located in Kal- amazoo County to serve underprivileged youngsters from the Kalamazoo area. Larry DeVoogd, the Camp Director, had been a teacher in the Campus Elementary School but he moved to Muskegon to accept a teaching position. Mr. DeVoogd and Dr. Leo Stine, Associate Director of the Graduate School at Western Michigan University and a member of the Board of Directors of the Pretty Lake Camp, had recruited staff for 68 the camp each spring from the student body, with the assis— tance of the faculty of the School of Education. Since most of the college students would be leaving after the winter term finished in mid-April, recruiting would be dif- ficult, if nOt impossible. In addition, the Board of Direct- ors at Pretty Lake had not been satisfied with the quality of the former staff members because they tended to be young undergraduates who lacked both experience and training in working with the disadvantaged.11 Dr. Stine initiated a meeting with Dean James Griggs of the School of Education and other interested faculty in an attempt to solve this staffing problem. The camp had been used for several years as a setting for a few University classes, although these had been generally less than satis- factory because of the heavy demands of the camp schedule on the staff members' time and the seeming lack Of relevance of the courses to the camping experiences.12 The meeting of personnel from the School of Educa- tion with Dr. Stine resulted in the consensus that the Uni- versity had not utilized Pretty Lake Camp as a training facility for Western Michigan University students. Dean Griggs suggested that the camp setting might be used as a facility where recent graduates of the University, who 11Personal interview with Dr. Leo Stine, former Associate Director of the Graduate School and now Director Of Continuing Education, February 23, 1971. 12Ibid. 69 probably would not be able to find teaching positions in mid-April, could begin graduate study as well as serve as the camp staff. Dr. Stine visualized the camp as an ideal setting for prospective teachers to learn to work with dis- advantaged youngsters who were succeeding in the new camp environment. Furthermore, the children tended to reveal more of themselves in this new and informal environment, and the prospective teachers would have the opportunity to develop close relationships with children who might be un- approachable in the typical public school environment.13 It was agreed that the Spring Session would be used as a training period for recent graduates with teaching certificates and the summer camp experience would serve as field experience for working with the disadvantaged. Six hours of graduate credit could be earned in the Spring Ses- sion for the course work with six hours of additional credit earned in the Summer Session. This resulted in the provision of trained staff for Pretty Lake Camp, and the opportunity for recent graduates to earn twelve hours of credit toward the Master of Arts degree.14 Dr. Stine and others applied for Federal funds to defray registration fees as well as provide a small stipend for the graduate students during the Spring Session. 13Personal interview with Dr. Leo Stine, Director of Continuing Education, February 23, 1971. 14 16, 1971. Personal interview with Dr. James Griggs, February 70 Although support was given both locally and regionally from the Office of Economic Opportunity, no funds were awarded for this prOposal. The Board of Directors of the Pretty Lake Camp were persuaded by Dr. Stine to allocate some program development funds for the training program for Spring Session 1966, and Dean James Griggs committed a small portion of School of Education funds to the project 15 so that the training program could be initiated. This was Western Michigan University's first entrance into courses and formal programs specifically related to training teachers for the disadvantaged. Since there were no specific courses for teaching the disadvantaged in the curriculum of the School of Educa— tion in 1965-66, the first graduate students registered for a six-hour program which included Education 598, "Readings, Projects and Participation," and Education 603, "Sociologi- cal and Philosophical Foundations of Education." During the Summer Session, these graduate students received six hours credit for Education 712, "Field Experience." Dr. Gerald Martin and Jess Walker designed and directed the Spring Session which included field experiences in social and governmental agencies serving the poor, classroom teach- ing experiences in inner-city schools, and field trips to 15 23, 1971. Personal interview with Dr. Leo Stine, February 71 the Job Corps and the Flint Community Education Program. The first graduate students were supervised during the Summer Session at Pretty Lake Camp by Mr. Walker and Dr. George Miller after Dr. Martin left to act as liason with the Job Corps Center in June, 1966.16 The Executive Committee of the Department of Teacher Education approved the Master of Arts degree program for "Teaching the Economically and Educationally Disadvantaged" on September 12, 1966. This program was principally the work of Dr. Martin and Mr. Walker; however, the following staff members made significant contributions: Dr. Clara Chiara, Dr. Louis Govatos, Dr. James Griggs, Dr. Paul Misner, Dr. Orval Ulry and Dr. Sara Swickard. The new courses which were added to the curriculum of the School of Education were: Education 555, "Introduction to Teaching the Disad— vantaged;" Education 560, "Practicum: Sociological and Psychological Foundations of Teaching the Disadvantaged;" and Education 669, "Seminar in Problems of Teaching the Dis— advantaged." When the Executive Committee of the Department of Teacher Education approved the Master of Arts program for "Teaching the Economically and Educationally Disadvantaged" on September 12, 1966, several faculty members expressed 16Personal interview with Dr. Gerald Martin, Febru- ary 12, 1971. 72 the need for more undergraduate specialization in preparing to teach disadvantaged children and adolescents. The Department Head, Dr. Orval Ulry, suggested that special sections of the basic Teacher Education courses, Education 250, "Human Development and Learning," and Education 300, "Teaching and Learning," be designated as emphasizing dis- advantaged children and adolescents. The Executive Com- mittee agreed to include a unit or two in the curriculum of Education 300, "Teaching and Learning."17 As a result of this decision by the Executive Com- mittee of the Department of Teacher Education, special eve— ning meetings for all students enrolled in Education 300, "Teaching and Learning," were held in November, 1966, and again in February, 1967. The topic of these evening ses- sions, "Teaching the Disadvantaged," was to serve as an introduction for each instructor's units on the disadvan- taged. In a "Request for Funds to Support the Development of Long-Range Plans and a Pilot Project for the Training of Teachers of Disadvantaged Youth" submitted to the U. S. Office of Education in the fall of 1966, Jess Walker ack— nowledged that, The teacher preparation program at Western is typical of what is to be found in most universities in that the training is directed toward employment 17Minutes of the Executive Committee, Department of Teacher Education, September 12, 1966. 75 in middle class school situations. The impact of the efforts of the United States Government along with the fact that a growing number of Western graduates are being hired in positions which require them to teach disadvantaged child— ren makes it increasingly important for the University to improve its teacher preparation program.1 However, in 1966 when the prOposal was written,no acknowledgment of a change in undergraduate teacher educa— tion preparation was apparent. Item D. of this prOposal included, "A Review of the course material now included in the undergraduate preparation of students at Western Michi- gan University to discover instances where information re- lated to the background and needs of disadvantaged child- 19 Thus it would seem that the prOposal ren can be added." author viewed the only changes in the undergraduate pro- gram to be that of supplying additional information to teacher trainees. In the fall of 1966 the newly-created National Institute for Advanced Study in Teaching Disadvantaged Youth named Western Michigan University as one of 20 cen— ters throughout the country to receive a grant of $13,000 to improve the competencies of university faculty in the 18Jess Walker, "Request for Funds to Support the Development of Long-Range Plans and a Pilot Project for the Training of Teachers of Disadvantaged Youth," submit— ted to the U. S. Office of Education, 1966, p. 15. 19Jess Walker, p. 7. 74 preparation of teachers of the disadvantaged for the Spring and Summer Sessions of 1966—67. In an application to the Michigan Department of Education for funding a proposal for the "Preparation of Elementary and Secondary School Teachers of the Disadvantaged," for Spring Session 1966, Jess Walker wrote, Western Michigan University has a considerable record of active involvement in programs for the education of disadvantaged children and youth. The programs have develOped in several areas, in- cluding: l) A sociological research study of the needs of children of migrant workers; 2) A cooper- ative program with other Michigan state univer- sities in the preparation of community school directors through the Mott Foundation in Flint; 3) The employment of four graduates of the Mott program as faculty members in the School of Educa- tion; 4) The inclusion of units and experiences within required professional courses acquainting all prospective teachers with educational pro- blems and programs for the disadvantaged; 5) The establishment of an academic program for the Job Corps Center at Fort Custer; 6) The development Of a Master's degree program for teachers of the disadvantaged; and 7) The development of a locally— financed pilot program during the spring and sum- mer sessions to prepare pre—service teachers bet— ter to cope with problems of the education of the disadvantaged.20 The Michigan Department of Education funded this proposal for the Spring Session of 1966-67 for 59 graduate students. As a result of this spring and summer program for pre—service teachers and the spring and summer in- service programs for the University faculty, Western Michigan University received the Distinguished Achievement 20"PrOposal to: The State of Michigan Department of Education for: The Preparation of Elementary and Secondary School Teachers of the Disadvantaged," December 1, 1966. LCOL O a A to I 13%. u:- I" 771 VJ. 75 Award for Excellence in Teacher Education in February, 1968, from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. The Master of Arts degree program, "Teaching the Economically and Educationally Disadvantaged," was initiated and implemented quickly as a result of Dean Griggs' efforts to expedite the routine committee deliberations.21 During the Winter term of 1966-67, Dr. George Miller 22 and Dr. John Bergeson of the Department of Teacher Educa- tion, discussed a prOposal for a one-semester program for undergraduates who were interested in teaching the disadvan- taged. With the support of the Department Head, Dr. Orval Ulry, Drs. Miller and Bergeson incorporated the professional education courses required of.all teacher trainees into a one-semester program. Planning sessions with other faculty members, public school administrators and University admin- istrators occurred during April and May. During the late spring of 1966-67, there was insuf- ficient time to present the outlined program to the appro— priate departmental committee structure for discussion and deliberation; however, with Dean Griggs' support, the under- graduate program, "Preparing to Teach the Disadvantaged," 21Personal interview with Dr. Leo Stine,February 23, 1971. The haste with which the Master of Arts program was implemented was collaborated by Dr. James Griggs and Dr. Louis Govatos. 22Drs.Miller and Bergeson were two of the 10 faculty members, nine from the School of Education and one from Soc- iology, who were awarded stipends during Spring and Summer Sessions, 1966—67, to improve their knowledge and under- standing of the problems of the disadvantaged. 76 :receiyed approval from the All-University Committee on 'Teacher Education on November 7, 1967.23 The one-semester program was described as "an experimental program" and was authorized to operate for only one term, Winter 1967-68. The faculty members who were to teach the courses and super— vise the students in their classroom experiences were re- quested to evaluate the program by the Department Head, Dr. Ulry, so that its continuation would be assured. Dr. Bergeson was appointed administrative assistant to Dr. Ulry for 1967-68 and Dr. Miller was appointed princi- pal of the Campus Elementary School so Mrs. Helen Jennings, Assistant Professor of Teacher Education, was asked to super- vise the elementary education classes in the undergraduate program. Mrs. Jennings had prOposed an experience—oriented program for elementary teacher trainees to Dr. Ulry in the Spring, 1967.24 The writer, who had been one of the 10 fac- ulty members to participate in the in—service training pro- gram in Spring-Summer, 1966-67, was asked to teach and supervise the students at the secondary school level and Ronald Crowell of the Psycho-educational Clinic consented to teach Teacher Education 322, "Teaching of Reading in the Secondary School," since he had taught this course before and had also been one of the 10 faculty members to receive in-service education on teaching the disadvantaged. 23Minutes of the Meeting, Teacher Education Committee, Western Michigan University, November 7, 1967. 24Personal interview with Mrs. Helen Jennings, February 10, 1971. 77 During the Fall term 1967-68, Helen Jennings, Ronald Crowell and the writer met several times with ad- ministrators from the Kalamazoo Public Schools to enlist their cooperation in placing the teacher trainees as teacher assistants in the target area schools of the city. Students were notified of the new program, "Pre- paing to Teach the Disadvantaged," through announcements to instructors of Teacher Education 250, "Human Development and Learning," Teacher Education 100, "Introduction to Education," and through articles in the Western Herald, the campus news- paper. Twenty elementary education students and 13 secondary education students pre—registered for the program after an initial interview with Dr. John Bergeson, Administrative Assistant to the Department Head. The program began Winter term, 1967-68. Aims and Objectives of the Program The major purposes of the undergraduate program, "Preparing to Teach the Disadvantaged," are: 1. To prepare teachers more adequately for serving disadvantaged children by: A. Increasing sensitivity to the needs of such children. B. Increasing knowledge as to the materials and methods that appear to increase the learning potential of such children. C. Increasing awareness of the backgrounds of such children so as to more effectively use their past experiences to enhance future learning. 78 D. Understanding the.importance of self—image as it relates to academic achievement. 2. To provide classroom assistance to teachers cur- rently working with disadvantaged children in selected public schools in Kalamazoo. 3. To improve educational Opportunities for child— ren attending those schools. An earlier program description was less explicit with three major purposes cited: 1. To produce more adequately prepared teachers for disadvantaged children; 2. To provide immediate classroom assistance to teachers currently working with disadvantaged children in selected public schools in Kalama- zoo and, hopefully, to improve educational Opportunities for children attending those schools; 3. To provide in-service educational opportunities for classroom teachers in the selected schools at 8038 future date should funds become avail— able. The major purposes listed in the Second Revision of May 5, 1967 carried the same major purposes as the Third Revision cited first.27 On October 20, 1970, Helen Jennings prepared the following statement about the undergraduate program: 25John B. Bergeson and George Miller, "Proposed Pro- gram for Undergraduate Students Desiring to Teach Disad- vantaged Students," Third Revision, May 10, 1967, p. 2. 26George Miller and John Bergeson, "PrOposed Pro- gram for Undergraduate Students Desiring to Teach Disadvan- taged Students, p. 2. 27John B. Bergeson and George Miller, "PrOposed Program for Undergraduate Students Desiring to Teach Dis- advantaged Students," Second Revision, p. 2. 79 The undergraduate program, Teacher Preparation for the Disadvantaged, was develOped on the premise that educationally disadvantaged children present special problems requiring special knowledge on the part of the teacher. Objpctives 1. To prepare more effectively those students who want to teach in inner city schools so that they might better COpe with the educational problems of educationally disadvantaged children and target area schools: A. By increasing sensitivity to the needs of such children. B. By increasing knowledge as to the materials and methods that appear to increase the learning potential of such children. C. By increasing awareness of the backgrounds of such children so as to more effectively use their past experiences to enhance future learning. D. By understanding the importance of self-image as it relates to academic achievement. 2. To provide classroom assistance to teachers cur- rently working with disadvantaged children in selected public schools in Kalamazoo. 5. To improve educational Opportunities for children attending those schools. 4. To motivate certain teacher education students to want to teach in inner city schools. The only change in aims and objectives of the under— graduate program, "Preparing to Teach the Disadvantaged," at Western Michigan University from its conception in May, 1967, to the present term has been the addition of "Motivating certain teacher education students to want to teach in inner city schools." The other objectives remain identical to those conceived by Dr. George Miller and Dr. John Bergeson. 80 Description of the Curriculum The first draft of the undergraduate program, "Pre- paring to Teach the Disadvantaged," included the following courses for the one term experimental group: Teacher Education 250 Teacher Education 300 Teacher Education 313 Teacher Education 598 Teacher Education 312 Human DevelOpment and Learning Teaching and Learning Problems in Elementary Education Independent Readings Teaching of Reading in the Elementary School The students who planned to teach in secondary schools were to register for Teacher Education 250 Teacher Education 300 Teacher Education 313 Teacher Education 598 Teacher Education 322 the following courses: Human Development and Learning Teaching and Learning Problems in Secondary Education Independent Readings Teaching of Reading in the Secondary Sch00128 The Second Revision of the program listed the courses which currently remain in the program: Teacher Education 250 Teacher Education 300 Teacher Education 450 Teacher Education 312 Teacher Education 472 The first draft of as follows: - Human Development and Learning - Teaching and Learning — School and Society or 322 - Teaching of Reading - Student Teaching the program described the classes 1. Classes would usually be held on campus although when public school staff members are used as resource persons, classes would be held in the public schools if possible. 28 Teacher Education 313 and 598 are not required courses in the professional education sequence and thus students enrolling in the program would be taking six additional hours in education. 81 2. The block-time arrangement of classes makes it possible for the three-man staff to plan class activities COOperatively and thus to integrate learnings from one course in the block with learn- ings from the other courses. 5. Field trips, home visits, and other involvement type experiences would be heavily emphasized in the content of the courses and such experiences could easily schedule under the block-time arrangement. 4. Education 313 would be used as a seminar to dis- cuss actual problems encountered by students during the field experiences. 5. Education 250 and 300 class meetings could be scheduled in a way which would provide opportunity for Secondary and Elementary students to meet to— gether to discuss both their unique and their common problems. The Second Revision by George Miller and John Berge- son did not change the description of the classes. The Third Revision of the program omitted the description of Education 313, Number Four in the first draft above, as the course was no longer part of the program. No other changes were made, however. Although no additional or more recent descriptions of the curriculum have been written for the program since its inception in May, 1967, a brochure prepared by Robert Hughes and Helen Jennings in 1970 describes the advantages of the one semester program under four areas: 1. Relevance. Ideas and theories advanced in university classes can be more meaningful when students can see them in Operation in the elemen- tary and high school classroom. 2. Applicability. Students are able to immediately experiment with ideas and theories develOped in the university class through their participation in the classrooms of the local schools. 82 3. Fgeedom. Free exchange between students and teachers is encouraged by the seminar arrangement of the classes. 4. Immediacy. Students are able to work with and help now a segment of our population which has been denied Opportunities usually associated with our society. In a "Progress Report of the Undergraduate Program of Teacher Preparation for the Disadvantaged," Helen Jennings described the curriculum under two headings-~Orientation for Students and Course Content. Her descriptions of the Orientation follows: For the first two weeks of each semester before reporting to their school assignments the students were involved in full—day sessions with Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Jennings, and since his assignment to Teacher Education, with Mr. Ron Crowell. During orientation the instructors attempted to offer a variety of relevant experiences and activities including selected readings and discussions, films, speakers, field trips, and visits to schools. The Course Content was described by Mrs. Jennings as follows: The required courses, 250, 300 elementary and secondary, 312, 322 and 450, were taken afternoons and Friday mornings. In addition to traditional course content, tOpics focused on the unique pro- blems and concerns of the disadvantaged child, pre- judice, cultural differences, minority groups, and teacher role in the inner city classrooms. Resource persons who worked with the disadvantaged either in schools or community agencies shared their exper— iences at some of the class sessions. Their support of the program and encouragement helped the students gain a better perspective concerning community and school efforts that deal with problems of the disad- vantaged.29 29Helen Jennings, "Progress Report of the Under- graduate Program of Teacher Preparation for the Disadvan- taged," (unpublished paper), April 23, 1970, p. 2. 85 The Curriculum for the undergraduate program, "Pre— paring to Teach the Disadvantaged," at Western Michigan University included the common readings and experiences that the pre-professional required education courses typi- cally include but focuses on the problems of the inner city family, community and school as well as the experiences of minority group members and the poor in general. Since the size of the group has been smaller than many education classes, more time was available for discussion of common problems faced in the classroom experiences of that morning as well as current problems in the Kalamazoo community. The classes were able to attract speakers because the community and the public school teachers and administrators were pleased to see Western involved in special training for teachersoof the disadvantaged. No additional funds were available for the program so the field trips and the speakers had to be gratuitous or the students met the expenses them— selves. Description of the Laboratory Experiences The laboratory experiences envisoned by George Miller and John Bergeson in their first draft of the pro- gram were varied in nature. They listed 14 activities for student involvement. Their descriptor for this phase of the program, "Preparing to Teach the Disadvantaged," was Figlg Experience. Miller and Bergeson's description of field experiences follows: 84 Students in the Pilot Program would serve as teacher-aides in selected public school classrooms from 8:30 - 12:00 on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday each week during the semester. While their assignment to a classroom and their duties will be determined largely by the building princi- pal and the classroom teacher, it is hoped that educative experiences of the following kinds could be provided: 1. Helping with seatwork and other individualized classroom activities. 2. Listening to children read and/or reading to small groups of children. 5. Working with small groups which need remedial help or enrichment. 4. Supervising playground or gym games. 5. Helping teachers on field trips. 6. Eating lunch with children. 7. Locating instructional materials which could be utilized in teaching. 8. Individual tutoring in or out of the classroom. 9. Helping with classroom parties and other social activities. 10. Working with children who.have missed school and need to "make-up" classwork. ll. Caring for children who become ill in class; taking them home if necessary. 12. Visiting children's homes when they are absent from school. 15. Assisting with bulletin boards, distribution of supplies to children, etc. 14. Working with after-school programs for children and adults within the school community.50 Miller and Bergeson refined the Field Experience component of the program to a greater extent in their second revision: A. Students in this program would serve as class— room assistants in selected public school classrooms from 8:00 — 12:00 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and 30John Bergeson and George Miller, "Proposed Pro- gram for Undergraduate Students Desiring to Teach Deprived Students," (unpublished paper), pp. 3-4. 85 Thursday each week during the semester. While their role in the classroom and their duties will be deter- mined largely by the needs Of the pupils and the particular classroom situation, it must be constantly remembered that these peOple have not completed any courses in education and are just starting their pro- fessional training. It is important, therefore, that the following general guidelines be observed in plac— ing classroom assistants and in defining their role. 1. It is hOped that classroom assistants would be assigned only to teachers who are willing and able to assist young peOple who may know very little about teaching. 2. The rights of parents and students should not be jeopardized by sharing information of an extremely confidential nature with classroom assistants. 3. The classroom assistant should not be placed in situations in which.he would be expected to inter- pret school programs and policies to parents. 4. Most importantly, teachers should not leave the class in charge of the classroom assistant by leaving the classroom. B. During the initial phases of this experience, the classroom assistant would spend considerable time observing the total student group in various activi- ties. Later, the percentage of time devoted to Observing would be reduced considerably. The schematic below illustrates a typical pattern of involvement: STUDENT EXPERIENCE BLOCK Initial Phases Final Phases Partici- Participation and pation Observation Routine and Duties Routine Duties bservation As the percentage of time in participation increases, the classroom assistant would participate in activi- ties which involve direct interaction with pupils. The activities below are listed in a tentative order of priority. 86 1. Working with individuals in various skill areas—- particularly those students in need of remedial work and those students who have missed school. 2. Working with small instruction and/or remedial groups; particularly in the area of reading. 5. In a junior high school situation, small group instruction might be carried out in the Learning Center in the Library. 4. Supervising playground and/or gym activities. 5. Helping to supervise lunchroom and/or eating lunch with the pupils. 6. Helping with classroom parties, student govern- ment, field trips, etc. 7. Working in the office with students as they come in with excuses, passes, etc. (These activities are more apprOpriate in secondary schools.) C. Although activities which involve direct inter— action with students would probably be the most desirable from the standpoint of the classroom assistants, other activities, also listed in a tenta- tive order of priority, might be valuable: 1. Opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge of the total school (guidance, administration, custodial, etc. 2. Opportunities to visit students' homes with guidance personnel, administrators, etc. The class- room assistants would be observers only. 3. Assist with various class routine (collecting money, handing back papers, etc.) 4. Assist with the preparation of bulletin boards, equipment, and/or material set-up for children's use, and constructing various classroom aids. 5. The running of various audio-visual equipment. 6. The correcting of papers. (These activities should 7. Running off dittoes, etc. be held to a minimum)31 The Third Revision of the undergraduate program retained the description of the laboratory experiences from the Second Revision above. The changes in description of 31John B. Bergeson and George Miller, "PrOposed Program for Undergraduate Students Desiring to Teach Dis— advantaged Students," Second Revision (unpublished paper), May 5, 1967, pp. 4-5. 87 the activities performed by the teacher assistant and the change in descriptor from teacher aide to teacher assistant were the result of meetings with Kalamazoo Public School personnel, Dan Moerdyk and Peter Wallus. Teacher aides had been employed in the classrooms in the Kalamazoo Public Schools and some distinction was deemed necessary between these paraprofessionals and the teacher-trainees. The limited role which the teacher assistant would play in visiting homes, being alone with the entire class and meeting with parents was at the request of these same Kalamazoo Schools' staff who felt the limited academic and professional experiences of the teacher assistants limited their proficiency and capabilities in large group encounters with children. Legal reasons were also cited for the careful limitation and description of the assistant's role so that the classroom teacher/supervisor would be ultimately respon— sible for whatever occurred in his classroom. Description of the Staff The original staff of the undergraduate program, "Preparing to Teach the Disadvantaged," consisted of Mrs. Helen Jennings who supervised and instructed the classes emphasizing teaching in the elementary schools and Mrs. Carol Smith who supervised the secondary school classes. Ronald Crowell taught one class in the program, Teacher Education 322, "Teaching of Reading in Secondary Schools." 88 Helen Jennings holds a Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts and Educational Specialist degrees from Western Michigan University. She has had considerable experience as a classroom teacher and principal in elementary schools in southwestern Michigan prior to becoming a coordinator of student teaching at Western Michigan University and later a faculty member of the Department of Teacher Education. She became interested in problems of educating the disadvan— taged through her own classroom experiences teaching poor southern whites, migrant children whose families stayed in Michigan and black children. Her interest in a block pro- gram where field experiences were combined with classroom courses originated the same Spring term (1967) that Miller and Bergeson conceived the disadvantaged program for under- graduates. Mrs. Jennings' prOposal combined Teacher Ed- ucation 300, "Teaching and Learning," and Teacher Education gig, "Teaching of Reading," with classroom experience in elementary school classrooms. As a result of the sug- gestions and comments of her former student teachers and as a result of her own observations of the lack of skill of first-year teachers, Mrs. Jennings envisoned a program where teacher trainees would gain experience in a class- room prior to student teaching.32 32Personal interview with Mrs. Helen Jennings, February 10, 1971. 89 Carol Smith, the writer of this study, holds the Bachelor of Science degree in Business Education from Bow- ling Green State University (Ohio) and the Master of Arts in Guidance and Counseling from Michigan State University. She has had classroom teaching and counseling experience at the junior high school level in Ohio and at senior high school and with adult education in Michigan. In her class- rooms she had students who were Mexican-Americans, poor black and white students and students who drOpped out of school before receiving their diplomas. Her interest in the disadvantaged resulted from her own racially isolated community life in Ohio, her homelife which included the view of a prison farm, and her experiences working with the poor during the summers. In addition she was one of the 10 Western Michigan University faculty members involved in the Spring-Summer in-service training sessions in 1966- 67 where she visited inner-city schools in Detroit and Chicago; worked as a social worker with the Douglass Community Association in Kalamazoo, stayed at an all-black university in Tennessee and acted as a consultant at Camp Channing, a YMCA summer camp in Michigan which services the young peOple of the near-northside of Chicago. Ronald Crowell holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Michigan State University and a Master of Arts degree from Toledo University. His teaching experience prior to join- ing the Western Michigan University faculty had been at the 9O junior college level. Through his contacts with black friends in Lansing, Michigan, and the interest in social problems stimulated in his graduate classes at Michigan State University, he applied foreuuireceived a stipend for in-service education during the Spring—Summer 1966—67 at Western Michigan University where he visited schools in inner-city Chicago and Detroit as well as schools in Appalachia.33 Since the program's inception in Winter 1967—68, these three faculty members have taught and supervised the students; however, Dr. Frank Heger taught part-time in the program for one year and Robert Hughes replaced Carol Smith in the program for one year, 1970—71. Robert Hughes had also been a member of the in—service training staff and Dr. Heger's interest in urban education led him to become involved on a part-time basis when a staff vacancy occurred. Description of the Students The first three drafts of the "Proposed Program for Undergraduate Students Desiring to Teach Disadvantaged Students" called for approximately 60 students to be enrol— led, 30 in the elementary school curriculum and 30 at the secondary school level with self—selection as the criteria for acceptance. 55 15, 1971. Personal interview with Ronald Crowell, February 91 In subsequent discussions with Dr. Ulry, then Head of the Department of Teacher Education, it was agreed that since this was an experimental program that to insure its success the enrollment should be limited to a maximum of 40 students, 20 at the elementary school level and 20 in secondary school teaching. In the Winter 1967-68, the initial group consisted of 33 students, 20 elementary education students and 13 students in secondary education. As a result of the exper— iences of that term where several students had neither strong interest in the disadvantaged nor cumulative point averages in good standing with the University, it was decided that beginning with Fall, 1968-69, only students whose cumulative point averages were 2.0 would be elgible for the program after they had participated in a pre— registration orientation session and an individual conference- interview with the staff member supervising the elementary education or secondary education group. That term, 32 students registered for the program, 20 in elementary school teaching and 12 in secondary school teaching. The Winter 1968-69 term brought 35 students into the program with 22 in elementary education and 13 in secondary education. The group grew to 41 in the Fall 1969- 70 with 26 in elementary education and 15 in secondary education. The largest group enrolled in Winter l969—7O when 42 students, 20 in elementary education and 22 in 92 secondary education joined the program. Fall 1970-71 brought a slight drOp in enrollment with 19 elementary education students enrolling in the program and 17 secon- dary education students joining the program bringing the total that term to 36. Publicity for the program had been through news articles in the Western Herald and through announcements to freshmen and SOphomore classes although most students said they had heard+about the program from other students. A brochure was developed for the fall term 1970-71 as an additional publicity instrument. Summary The Western Michigan University program for under- graduates, "Preparing to Teach the Disadvantaged," grew out of faculty interest in preparing teachers for schools where a sizeable number of children are poor, come from homes where there is little motivation for learning, and are of disadvantaged minority groups. The interest in the learning problems of the disadvantaged was stimulated by faculty participation in an in—service training program during Spring and Summer terms of 1966-67. The prOposal for a one semester program for students interested in teaching the disadvantaged and incorporating pre~professional classes with involvement in target area school was supported 95 by both the Department Head and the Dean of the School of Education. The students who enrolled in the program were freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors who expressed an interest in working with the disadvantaged and were recruited more by chance than by design. These students heard of the program from other students who had been or were currently in the program and usually sought out the faculty for permission to be enrolled. Some publicity appeared in the Western Herald and the Kalamazoo Gazette but students generally had not seen these articles. Although the program was designated as experimental and was given approval at both the departmental and univer- sity levels for one semester only, the program has con— tinued to operate and enroll students each term since Winter 1967-68 without reconsideration or evaluation. ‘HAPTER FOUR PRESENTATION OF DESCRIPTIVE DATA Introductory Statement The undergraduate program, "Preparing to Teach the Disadvantaged," has been in operation at Western Michigan University since January 1, 1968. Although this program had been approved by the University Curriculum Committee for only Winter term 1967—68, 183 students had completed this one semester program by Fall, 1970-71, and a number of former students had graduated from the Univer— sity with teaching certificates and were currently teach- ing. It seemed appropriate, therefore, to secure informa- tion about the students who had been enrolled in the pro- gram, the problems they faced as they.have gone into the teaching profession and the relative successes of the pro- gram in preparing teachers for the disadvantaged. If the program were successful, perhaps it might be expanded; if the program proved to be unworthy, perhaps it should be altered or drOpped from the curriculum of the Department of Teacher Education. As a result of consultations with Dr. Uldis Smid— chens and Mrs. Helen Jennings of Western Michigan 94 95 University and Dr. Lawrence Lezotte of Michigan State University, a questionnaire was developed which would attempt to 1) describe the nature of the students who had been in the program, 2) discover if they were currently teaching or their present status and 3)secure feedback and evaluation of the success of the program. The ques- tionnaire was pre-tested on two students to ascertain that the questions were clearly worded. In December, 1970, a cover letter and a seven- page questionnaire1 was sent to the 183 students who had completed the one semester program, "Preparing to Teach the Disadvantaged," at Western Michigan University. A second mailing was sent in January, 1971, to those who had not responded to the first questionnaire and letter. Seventy-nine elementary education majors and 49 secondary education majors returned the questionnaire for a total of 128 respondents or a 70 percent response. Table I presents a description of the respondents from each of the five groups completing the program. 1A COpy of the cover letter and a c0py of the questionnaire are found in the Appendix of this study. 96 TABLE I DESCRIPTION OF THE RESPONDENTS BY TERM ENROLLED Total Number of Percentage Term Enrolled Enrolled Respondents of Response I. Winter 1968 33 26 79% II. Fall 1968 52 21 66% III. Winter 1969 55 29 88% IV. Fall 1969 41 28 68% V. Winter 1970 42 22 52% Totals 183 126* *two persons did not indicate which term they were enrolled in the program Demographic Information Of the 128 former students of the program, "Pre- paring to Teach the Disadvantaged," who responded to the questionnaire, 23 were men and 105 were women. Two did not identify their sex. Eight former students listed their Race as Negro, 112 described themselves as White and eight did not indicate their race. The former students of the program were asked to state their Religious Affiliation, if any. Thirty-four percent of the respondents wrote Protestant; 27.3 percent designated Catholic; 4.7 percent wrote Other; 19.5 percent 97 wrote None and 14.1 percent did not respond to the ques— tion. Former students were asked to describe the socio- economic level of their childhood home. Eighty-five per- cent of the respondents used middle class descriptors, 5.5 percent used upper class designations and 6.3 percent described their homes as lower class. When requested to describe the socioeconomic level of the schools they attended, nine percent of the respondents described their elementary schools as upper class, 89 per- cent used a middle class descriptor and 2.3 percent indi- cated they attended a lower class elementary school. The descriptions of the junior high schools attended by former students of the program were similar to the elementary schools attended. Eighty-six percent described their junior high school as middle class, 8.1 percent attended junior high schools described as upper class and only one percent attended a school described as lower class. The senior high schools attended were similar in socioeconomic level to both the elementary and junior high schools attended. Eighty-two percent used a middle class descriptor for their senior high school, 14.1 percent described their school as upper class and 2.3 percent designated their high school as lower class. Seventy-eight percent of the former students attended public elementary schools while 21 percent 98 attended parochial elementary schools. NO one attended' a private elementary school. At each upper level, junior and senior high school, the number who had attended paro- chial schools dropped to 19 percent at the junior high— school level and 17.2 percent at the senior high school level. One person of the 128 respondents attended a pri- vate junior and senior high school.while all the other respondents attended publicly supported junior and senior high schools. In summary, the majority of students in the program described themselves as being from middle class homes and having attended middle class, publicly" supported elemen- tary, junior and senior high schools. Women outnumbered men in the program and more than half the respondents listed a religious affiliation with an established denom- ination. Prior Experiences with the Poor The students who had been enrolled in the one semester program were asked to estimate the number of clock hours experience they had with low income groups prior to entering the Disadvantaged block. Table II is a summary of their responses. The first category listed on the questionnaire was the Kalamazoo Tutorial Program which originated at Western Michigan University to give children from the target area schools an Opportunity to have companionship 99 and academic tutoring from an interested college student. The second Option for volunteer participation listed on the questionnaire was Kids and fig which replaced the Kala- ‘gggpp Tutorial Program and emphasized a companionship relationship between the college student and the child rather than the academic tutoring relationship fostered in the Tutorial Prpgram. The college students are called "tutors" by the children from the target area schools; however, little time is spent helping the children with school work. Children are chosen for the project by teachers who think the child could benefit from a "Big Brother" or "Big Sister" relationship rather than for their under- achievement or lack of motivation for learning in the class- room. TABLE II PRIOR EXPERIENCES WITH THE POOR Number of Hoursglpvolved Activity Total Not Over Involved. given 1-40 40—100 100 Kalamazoo Tutorial 12 1 7 5 1 Kids and Us 3 O 2 l O Headstart 5 5 Migrants 2 2 Student Volunteer Corps l 1 Miscellaneous 11 l 1 1 8 Totals "34 “2‘ II" T2‘ .9— (1.670) (8.670) (9.4%) (7%) N=128 C3 = 100 The Student Volunteer Copps places students in selected classrooms and recreation settings in South- western Michigan. The student may assist the teacher or carry out an after-school recreation program with little or no supervision from professional staff. Of those students responding to the question about their prior experiences with the poor, approximately 27 per- cent indicated some involvement. Source of College Expenses Former students of the program were asked how their college expenses were financed. Table III illustrates their responses. TABLE III SOURCE OF COLLEGE EXPENSES A“.— —_- Source Number Percent Parents 75 58.6 Job, working 21 16.4 Loans 12 9.4 Scholarships 8 6.3 NDEA loan 5 5.9 Savings 6 4.7 Total 127 Extracurricular Activities in College The former students of the program were asked to list the clubs and organizations in which they were active at Western Michigan University. Table IV lists their responses. 101 The former students were also asked to indicate those organizations in which they held office or chaired a committee. Thirty-one or 24.2 percent of the respondents held one office; 11 former students or 8.6 percent of the respondent group held two Offices; five persons or 3.9 percent held three offices; two persons or 1.6 percent of the group listed four offices and two held five or more offices. TABLE IV EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES IN COLLEGE “— i_‘=____ m 1‘ Type of Organization Number Percentage Greek 22 17.2 Philanthropic 24 18.8 Political 10 7.8 Student Government 40 51.5 Religious 14 10.9 Total 110 Mean 1.6 Cumulative Grade Point Average After Winter term 1968, all students entering the program were required to have a 2.02 cumulative grade point average. The questionnaire sent to all former students of the program asked for cumulative grade point average (cur— rently, or at graduation). Table V describes the responses. 2The student receives one grade in each course that he takes which is assigned a certain value in honor points per hour of credit. A equals four.honor points; B equals three honor points; C equals two honor points; D equals one honor point and E receives zero honor points. 102 TABLE V CUMULATIVE GRADE POINT AVERAGE Range of GPA Number Percentage 2.0 - 2.49 18 14.1 205 "' 2099 61 4707 305 "' 4.0 14 1009 Total 118 Current Readipg Habits of Former Students The former students of the program were asked to list the names of newspapers they had read regularly during 1970; the names of weekly newsmagazines and/or commentaries they subscribed to or read regularly during 1970; the names of professional journals read regularly and the names of books about the poor, urban problems, schools and teaching that were not required by classes. Table VI details their responses. 105 as.me An.nv Am.mv Am.si Am.0av Am.oHo AF.HHV lu.cee v .o o a m as an ms as no excom Am.e lo.ai Am.v Am.mv Ase Amao An.ocv o o o a a a m c as am assesses Ac.~v Ac.HV Ao.ao Ao.av Ao.o~v Am.v~o Am.mao An.omo Ann.omo o a m a a v" as «N cm on necasomosnsoz Aam.v Aaa.mo “as.mav As.ca. as.omo Aas.mao o o o o a s as mm mm on nwcaoamsoz c m u .o n s m a a cascades seven: 02 ocuoumm ones assess seem naccc co sonsaz co cc3s z m4muumu .uo>oHaaoc= .umxuoz ceavosuva 1:00 .mcaaamuou .umxmsoson oeua1aaam .mmouumSoum ocaauaao “mayo 1 H> cacao accuse» oamaumum eeuv1ausm 1 > ozone ucanomoh 1 >H aaouu so: anaconda acronym 1 HHH nacho mcucumcu accuaum vouoaaaoo e>~n van .cmcaaoo cm 1 HH asoau acazoaou ucevauu can we: o>~c can .omoaaoo cm 1 H cacao m Hm H ou n o” o xm.wa mm n> a o A o H o Rm.o a > em u on a h mm xv.mu om >H ha 0 am a 0 an md.m~ mm “HH 1 o m a m H R~.m v HH we a hm m ha mu &N.nm no H dawn; oumcz caused can: >umucooom >uaucmsonm unaccoamom Hench .mcflucoamom azosu wo ammuccouca .oz deuce mmH mqmIns and visits to agencies and neighborhood centers Sel‘fling the children of poverty. 9. It is recommended that the faculty and students ofthe program explore different models for preparing teachers for the disadvantaged. ities: 10. Since beginning teachers continue to have quiblems with motivation, discipline, racial tensions, Class control and lack of appropriate materials, it is recommended that the staff of the one semester program exPand their role to include follow-up services to for— mer students of the program who desire help with their teaching problems in low income schools. 132 11. A recommendation to continue the develop- ment of new methods and materials for teaching the dis- zmivantaged seems warranted by this study. 12. Simulation experiences should be developed cnl the topics of motivation for learning, class control, deniling constructively with racial tensions, leading class- Imxnn discussions and individualizing instruction for stnuients preparing to teach the disadvantaged. 13. Further follow-up of students who have com- plxeted the one semester program and who are now teaching 3&3 recommended to determine the program's strengths and Weaknesses. 14. It is recommended that a comparison study Of a Sumnple of the graduates of the regular Teacher Education cmlrses and a sample of the graduates who have completed tr“? one semester program be undertaken to determine differ— encxes and similarities in teacher behavior, in their prefer— enfixes for middle class or lower class schools and their invOlvement with the problems Of the poor. 15. A comparative study of the teaching competence enni the adjustment to the teaching role Of graduates of in“? regular program in the Department of Teacher Education anui the students who have completed the one semester program 13 recommended. 133 Department of Teacher Education 16. It was learned that few Opportunities are available for all students enrolled in Teacher Education at Western Michigan University to learn about new methods and materials for helping economically and educationally disadvantaged learn in schools since the evening sessions orienting all students in Teacher Education 300 are not ccurtinuing. Therefore, it is recommended that the present sterff be informed of the liklihood of their students' tenaching children in the inner city so that these units 01? instruction and orientation to the problems of the poor t“? included by the instructors in the regular curriculum. 17. Since few faculty members of the Department OfTTTeacher Education have had experience teaching disad— ‘Vaxrtaged youngsters, it is recommended that in-service PITJposals be studied to insure that this experience and exPertise are available to more faculty members. 18. It is recommended that the Search and Recruit- ”Knit Committee of the Department of Teacher Education con- Sidem-the lack of experience and expertise in the area of lfihaching the disadvantaged among the present staff as a needto be filled within the Department. APPENDIX 134 October 30, 1962 Dr. Richard Lawrence Associate Secretary American Association Of Colleges for Teacher Education 1201 Sixteenth street, N.W. Washington 6, D. 0. Dear Dick: We need your help. Several of us are in the process of drawing up a design for a prOposed study in teacher education. Specifically, our concern is with the pre- paration of teachers for the disadvantaged American" as identified in the Educational Policies Commission report on Education and the Disadvantaged American. We visualize a design which will demonstrate procedures for the preparation of teachers in large metrOpolitan areas, dealing with lower sociO-economic groups. We feel we have the facilities to do this at Western Michigan University. We are thinking of presenting the design to the Ford Foundation. What do you think? Whom shall we contact there? How complete should the proposal be? Are there other foundations that might be interested? Please let me hear from you as we are anxious to move on this Operation. Give my regards to your family as well as Ed and Ken. Tell Ken I have a little surprise waiting him. He will under- stand. We are in the midst Of being NCATE'd this week so life has been hectic. Tell Ed we already have had ten inches of snow. Oneonta has nothing on us. Cordially, A. L. Sebaly, Director Student Teaching ALS:te 135 January 21, 1963 Dr. Herbert Schueler Director Of Teacher Education Hunter College Bank Street New York City, New York Dear Dr. Schueler: Dick Lawrence referred me to you. At Western Michigan Uni- versity we have a group of men interested in developing a program in teacher education for those that the Educational Policies Commission calls the Disadvantaged American. Dick stated that he was under the impression that Hunter College was doing work in the area of providing teachers for underprivileged areas in this country. We are interested in securing information about any work your College may be doing in this area. More specifically, we would be interested in visiting Hunter College to study the program for a day or two. Specifically, we might be able to arrange at this end of the line to be gone from the University sometime during the week of January 28 - Febru- ary 1, 1963. What do you think? Perhaps another time would be better. I worked with the AACTE when its offices were located in Oneonta, New York. Dick, at that time, was the Associate Secretary of AACTE before he went to Syracuse. I will be looking forward to hearing from you in the near future. Cordially, A. L. Sebaly Director, student Teaching ALS/kj December 7, 1970 Dear We need your help in evaluating the program in which you were involved, THE UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM OF TEACHER PREPARATION FOR THE DISADVANTAGED. The enclosed questionnaire will help us determine the degree to which we have achieved one of.the program's objectives which is to prepare teachers more adequately for serving educationally disadvantaged children and youth. Would you please complete and return the questionnaire in the enclosed, addressed, stamped envelope by December 16. All responses will remain anonymous because a computer will assemble the data. We do welcome any additional comments and recommendations. You mdght be interested to know exactly how the data will be used. Mrs. Smith is presently completing her doctoral dissertation which is titled, "A Descriptive History of the Development and Procedures of the Experimental Program for Training Teachers for the Disadvantaged." Mrs. Jennings is developing a project titled, "A Follow-Up Study of Students in Western Michigan University's Experimental Undergraduate Program in Training Teachers for the Disadvantaged." So you can see that your responses will be extremely valuable to both of us. Concerning future developments, over sixty elementary and secondary students are enrolled for Winter Semester 1971; this is the largest group to date. Thank you very much for your assistance. Sincerely, Helen Jennings Carol Smith 137 Please respond to as many items as you can. Not all of the questions apply to everyone, however. For example, if you have not yet done your full- time student teaching, you cannot answer those questions about student teaching. 1. a. In which curriculum were you enrolled? elementary secondary b. Age Sex Race Religious affiliation, if any c. Cumulative Grade Point Average (currently, or at graduation . d. How were your college expenses financed? Parents or relatives percent Loan percent Scholarship percent NDEA Loan percent Your savings percent Job, working percent Other (specify) percent 100 percent Total e. Please list the clubs and organizations in which you were active at WIU. Put a check mark beside those in which you he d or chaired g ggmmittee. 2. Circle the number which best describes the socioeconomic level of your childhood home? upper middle lower 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 3. Circle the number which best describes the socioeconomic level of the schools ygu gttended. If you attended more than one at a level, please estimate the average. upper middle lower Elementary l 2 3 4 5 6 7 Junior High 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Senior High 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 4. Circle the kinds of schools you attended: A. Elementary-- (1) public (2) parochial (3) other private 3. Junior High-- (1) public (2) parochial (3) other private C. Senior High-- (1) public (2) parochial (3) other private 5. Please estimate the number of clock hours of experience you had with low income groups prigr to entering the Disadvantaged block. :1; Tutorial (3) Headstart (5) Student Volunteer 2 Kids & Us (4) Migrants Corps (6) Other, please specify here 1258 6. During which semester were you in the Block program of Teacher Prepara- tion for the Disadvantaged? (please circle) (1) Winter 1968 (3) Winter 1969 (5) Winter 1970 (2) Fall 1968 (4) Fall 1969 7. In which Kalamazoo school did you work as a teacher assistant in the Disadvantaged program? (please circle) (1) Edison (9) Central High (2) Lakewood (10) Hillside Jr. High (3) Lincoln (11) Northeastern Jr. High (4) Northglade (12) South Jr. High (5) Roosevelt (13) Juvenile Home (6) Vine (14) Lincoln Skills Center [‘1 (7) Washington (15) Lakeside Home 4 . (8) Woodward (16) Other (please specify) ? 8. Which of the following best describes you this present semester, Fall, 1970? (I) In college, but have not had student teaching " (2) In college, but have completed student teaching L'J (3) Student teaching now '1 (4) Teaching (5) Full-time graduate student (6) Other (please specify) 9. In which kind of school did you do or are you doing your student teaching? (1) upper income (2) middle income (3) low income (4) heterogeneous inc‘ 10. If you are now student teaching or teaching in a middle class school, would you change to a low income school if it were possible? (1) Yes (2) No 11. If you are now student teaching or teaching in a low income school, would you change to a middle class school if it were possible? (1) Yes (2) No 12. If student teaching or teaching, what percentages of each ig-schgol day do you spend in the following activities? (Your percentage should add up to 100%) X (1) giving directions, repeating, announcing, clarifying X (2) lecturing or talking to the entire class X (3) whole class or large group discussion X (4) small group discusgion, student-centered X (5) teacher-student planning and/or conferences (Responses continued) 1:59 X(6) lesson and unit planning; preparing for activities such as trips, speakers, etc. ‘(7) individualized instruction or supervision X(8) disciplining and controlling X(9) checking papers, preparing bulletin boards, housekeeping X(lO) other (please specify) 100 percent Total 13. Below are four problems commonly cited in the literature about educating the disadvantaged. Please add other problems you encountered in your first-hand experience with the disadvantaged. Problem 1. Motivating the students for school success/achievement Problem 2. Low reading achievement Problem 3. Maintaining class control/discipline Problem 4. Hostility towards middle class teachers and schools Problem 5. Problem;6. Problem 7. Problem 8. 14. How well did the teacher education classes (i.e. 250, 300, 312 or 322 8 450) in the Disadvantaged program prepare you to meet these problems? Please evaluate each of the problems stated in No. 13 on the following scale. Use the other side of the sheet if necessary. very not no prone. menu... 2'“) '(“i i”? ‘% “#1 “3“?" Problem 2--Low Reading ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) Problem 3--Class control( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) Problem 4--Hostility ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) Problem s-- ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) Problem o-- ( ) ( ) ( ) < ) ( ) Problem 7—- ( ) < ) ( ) < ) ( ) Problem e-- ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) 140 15. How well did the teacher assistant classroom experienges in the Disadvantaged program prepare you to meet these problems? Please evaluate each of the problems stated in No. 13 on the following scale. Use the other side of the sheet if necessary. very not no well well some at all opinion Problem l-—:Motivation ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) Problem 2--Low reading ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) [{‘1 Problem 3--Class control ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) f Problem 4--Hostility ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) Problem 5-- ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (( ) i _n i: Problem 6-- < ) ( > < ) ( ) ( ) L: Problem 7-- ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) Problem 8-- ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) 16. How well did your student teaching prepare you to meet these problems stated in No. 13? Use other side of sheet if necessary. Only those who have done their student teaching should respond. very not no well well some at all opinion problem l--Hotivation ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) Problem 2--Low reading ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) Problem 3--Class control ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) Problem 4--Hostility ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) Problem 5-- ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) Problem 6—- ( ) ( ) ( ) ( l ( ) problem 7-- ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) Problem 8-- ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) 17. What kinds of additional experiences could be provided in training teachers to work with the disadvantaged in schools? 141 18. What problems did you have when you began teaching (not student teaching)? 19. How did you cope with the problems you cited in No. 18? 20. Please list the names of daily and/or weekly newspapers you are reading regularly. (I) Since September 1970 (2) During all of 1970? 21. Please list the weekly newsmagazines and/or commentgrigg you sub- scribe to or read regularly; the monthly magazine . (1) Since September 1970 (2) During all of 1970? 22. What professional journals do you read regularly? (I) Since September 1970? (2) During all of 1970? 23. What books about the poor, urban problems, schools, and teaching, have you read that were not required by classes? (I) Since September 1970? (2) During all of 1970? 24. List any meetings or groups you have attended dealing with public affairs, social action or social issues. (1) Since September 1970? (2) During all of 1970? 25. If you are teaching (not student teaching), what committees have you served on or are serving on that are related to curriculum or other school issues? (1) Since September 1970? (2) During all of 1970? 142 26. Please answer this question only if you are teaching (not student teaching). Check the following activities which best describe your announcements) behavior. frequently some not at all 1. Discuss with other teachers or your peers, problems in your city ( ) ( ( ) 2. Discuss with other teachers or your peers, the problems of the poor in ( ) ( ( ) this country. 3. Talk to other teachers informally about improving education ( ) ( ( ) ~ 43 Talk to other teachers about new ideas in education ( ) ( ( ) 5. Talk with students about new' ideas in education ( ) ( ( ) 6. Establish relationships with disadvantaged youngsters outside the classroom. ( ) ( 1 ) 7. Visit the homes of your students ( ) ( ( ) 8. Call the parents of your students ( ) ( ( ) 9. Send notes home to parents of your students (other than routine ( ) ( ( ) 143 A computer will be used for assembling and analyzing the data for this study, so your individual responses will remain anonymous. We would like to contact school principals to secure additional feedback regarding the merits of the Disadvantaged Program. If you are currently teaching, would you please give your name and the name and the address of your principal and school? Also, if it is at all possible, we would like to visit you in your school sometime during the next semester. Your name Principal's name School name and address If you desire a copy of the results, please give your name and address below. RETURN BY DECEMBER 16 -- PLEASE! THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP! 144 WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY Department of Teacher Education January ll, 1971 Dear We need your help in evaluating the program in which fifil you were involved, the UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM OF TEACHER ’3 PREPARATION FOR THE DISADVANTAGED. Before Christmas, we sent you the enclosed questionnaire which will help us determine the degree to which we have achieved one : of the program's objectives which is to prepare teachers " more adequately for serving educationally disadvantaged 1} children and youth. Er More than 100 former students have already responded to the questionnaire. If you have already sent us your completed questionnaire, please let us know by returning this letter immediately in the enclosed envelope. If you have not sent us your questionnaire, please.help us by eggpleting and returning the enclosed questionnaire immediately. All responses will be tabulated by computer so your individual responses remain anonymous, but it would help us to know your name so that we will be able to determine who has not participated in this study. Thank you very much for your assistance. Sincerely, Helen Jennings Carol Smith BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Clark, Kenneth B. Dark Ghetto. New York: Harper and Row, 1965. Conant, James B. The Education of American Teachers. New r York: McGraw Hill, 1963. “ Cuban, Larry. To Make A Difference: Teachin in the Inner City. New York: The Free Press, 197 . Eddy, Elizabeth. Walk the White Line. New York: Double— day and Company, 1967. ll... Frost, Joe L. and Hawkes, Glenn R. (eds.) The Disadvantaged Child. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1966. Green, Robert L. (ed.) Racial Crisis in American Education. Chicago: Follett Educa iona orpora ion, . Hellmuth, Jerome. (ed.) Disadvanta ed Child III. New York: Brunner-Mazel Publishers, 1 O. Kontos, Peter G. and Murphy, James J. Teaching Urban Youth. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1937. KIOpf, Gordon J. and Bowman, Garda W. Teacher Education in a Social Context. New York: Mental Health Materials Center, Inc., 1966. Leacock, Eleanor B. Teaching and Learning in City_§chools. New York: Basic Books, 196s. Lutz, Frank W. Toward Improved Urban Education. California: WadswortE Publishing Company, 1970. Marcus, Sheldon and Rivlin, Harry N. (eds.) Conflicts in Urban Education. New York: Basic Books, 1976. Miller, Harry L. (ed.) Education for the Disadvantaged. New York: The Free Press, 1967. Morine, Harold and Morine, Greta. A Primergggr the Inner- Citg School. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 145 146 Passow, A. Harry. (ed.) Education in Depressed Areas. New York: Teachers College, 1963. Powledge, Fred. To Chapge A Child. Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1957. Rosenthal, Robert and Jacobson, Lenore. Pygmalion in the Classroom. New York: Holt, Rinehart and’Winston, Inc., 1968. Rudman, Herbert and Featherstone, Richard L. Urban Sghool- in . New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., 8. Silberman, Charles E. Crisis in the Classroom. New York: Random House, 1970. L Smith, Othanel B., Cohen, Saul B. and Pearl, Arthur. Teachers for the Real Egrld. Washington, D. C.: : American Association of Colleges for Teacher Edu- E cation, 1969. — Stone, James C. Teachers for the Disadvantaged. San Fran- cisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc.,—T969. Strom, Robert D. (ed.) The Inner-Citnglassroom: Teacher Behaviors. Colufibus, Ohio: Charles ET MErrill Pub- Iishing Company, 1966. Tuckman, Bruce W. Preparing to Teach the Disadvanta ed. New York: Collier-Macmillan Limited, 1969. Usdan, Michael and Bertolaet, Frederick. Teachers for the Disadvantageg. Chicago: Follett Pfiblishing Company, 1966. Venn, Grant. Man, Education and Man ower. Washington, D.C.: The AmerIEan Association of gcfiool Administrators, 1970. Weinstein, Gerald and Fantini, Mario D. (eds.) Toward Humanistic Education: A Curriculum of Affect. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1970. Periodicals Davies, Don and Amershek, Kathleen. "Student Teaching," Encyc10pedia of Educational Research, IV (1969), Robert Ebel (ed.), 1376—1387. Davies, Don. "The Teacher Numbers Game," The Education Digest, XXXVI (January, 1971), 1-4. 147 Fein, Rashi. "An Economic and Social Profile of the Negro American," Daedalus, 94 (Fall, 1965), 815-846 Holton, Samuel M. "Education in the Changing South," The Egucation Digest, XXXVI (January, 1971), 5-8. Ornstein, Alan C. "Preparing and Recruiting Teachers for Slum Schools," Journal of Secondary Education, 42 (December, 1967); 368—374. Phi Delta Kappan, XI (September, 1969). Riessman, Frank. "Teachers of the Poor: A Five Point Plan," Journal of Teacher Edgcationl XX (Fall, 1967), 326- 336. Salsinger, Harry G. "Clifton Wharton's First Year," Change XXX (January-February, 1971), 22. Sinclair, Ward. "Teacher Preparationffor Urban Schools," School and Society, 96 (October 12, 1968). 339-340. Smith, Donald and Arnez, Nancy. "Inner City Studies: Graduate Training for Teaching the Disadvantaged," Journal of Teacher Education, XX (Fall, 1969), 347— 350. Stiles, Lindley J. and Parker, Robert P. "Teacher Education Programs," Enc clgpedia of Educational Research, IV (1969). Rober Ebel (ed.), 1414-14? . "Teacher Opinion Poll," National Education Journal, (December, 1967). 63. Vail, Edward 0. "But Not Our Children," Phi Delta Kappan, LII (November, 1970), 161. The Wall Street Journal, (November 15, 1967). Wisniewski, Richard. "Urban Teacher Preparation Programs," Social Education, 33 (January, 1969), 77-82. Woodring, Paul. "Century of Teacher Education," School and Society, IX (May, 1961), 236-242. 148 Dissertations Martin, Gerald C. "A Study of the Adequacy of ProfeSsional Preparation for Teaching Disadvantaged as Perceived by Selected Elementary Teachers," Unpublished doctor- al6thesis, Michigan State University, East Lansing, l9 5. Sinclair, William Ward. "An Analysis of.Three Pre-Student Teaching Experiences in the Preparation.of Elemen— tary Teachers," Unpublished doctoral thesis, Michi- gan State University, East Lansing, 1961. Reports American Association of School Administrators. Imperatives in Education. Washington: National Education Association, 1966. Southern Education Repgrt, (April, 1967). Urban Task Force. Urban School Crisis.“ Final Repornuof the Task Force aneurban Educationsof thelDépartment of Health, Education and Welfare, submitted to HEW Secretary,Robert Finch, (January 5, 1970). Wilson, Milton E. involvement Two Years Later. A Report on Programming in the Area of Black Student Concerns at Kent State University, 1968-1970. Unpublished Material Bergeson, John B. and Miller, George. "Proposed Program for Undergraduate Students Desiring to Teach Dis— advantaged Students," Third Revision, Mimeographed paper, May 10, 1967. Bergeson, John and Miller, George. "Proposed Program for Undergraduate Students Desiring to Teach Deprived Students," Mimeographed. Not dated. "Board of Education Intensive Teacher Training Program." Mimeographed. New York: New York Board of Education, 1967. Griggs, James R. "Western Michigan University School of Education Final Annual Report, 1969—1970. Mimeo- graphed. July, 1970. Griggs, James H. "Annual Report of the School of Education," Western Michigan University. Mimeographed. 1965-66. 149 Jennings, Helen. "Progress Report of the Undergraduate Program of Teacher Preparation for the Disadvan- taged," Typewritten. April 23, 1970. Miller, George and Bergeson, John. "PrOposed Program for Undergraduate Students Desiring to Teach Disadvan- taged Students" Mimeographed. Second Revision, May 5, 1967. Walker, Jess. "PrOposal to: The State of Michigan Depart- ment of Education for: The Preparation of Elementary and Secondary School Teachers of the Disadvantaged," December 1, 1966. Zenti, Marilyn. "Programs of Teacher Education for those Preparing to Teach the Educationally and Culturally Disadvantaged," Mimeographed. Western Michigan University, 1970. Minutes Minutes of the Executive Committee, Department of Teacher Education, Western Michigan University, September 12, 1966. Minutes of the Meeting, Teacher Education Committee, Western Michigan Univesity, November 7, 1967.