Reflections from the field: A snapshot of traditional teacher education and urban professional development school graduates' preparation and teaching experiences

The purpose of this study was to advance knowledge about the perceptions of graduates of traditional teacher education (TTE) and professional development school (PDS) programs regarding their teacher preparation and urban teaching experiences. Recently, the PDS program has been recommended as a model for reforming teacher education in districts in urban areas. However, there is little research to show evidence of the effectiveness of the PDS model in schools located in urban areas. The participants in this study graduated from a university in the Midwest (Midwestern University, a pseudonym) and were teachers in school districts in the tri-city urban areas surrounding the university. Through quantitative and qualitative measures a comparison of the perceptions of 36 TTE and PDS graduates was completed.; The study emphasized four key aspects of teacher preparation and teacher experiences for educators in urban areas. First, it determined the strengths and weaknesses of their teacher preparation programs. TTE and PDS participants identified the following areas as program strengths: field experiences, school site visits, faculty members, coursework, program quality, support system, and realism of teacher preparation. The above areas were perceived as program weaknesses if they were nonexistent or poorly organized within the education preparation program. Secondly, it compared teaching practices in the areas of collaboration, management, motivation, and evaluation. In all of the above areas, except collaboration, the PDS participants felt more prepared than TTE graduates. Next, this study explored the relationship between teacher preparation and retention rates among MU teacher education graduates. Most of the PDS and TTE graduates indicated that they planned to remain in teaching for more than five years. Finally, this study explored the relationship between the teacher preparation experience and current leadership roles. The survey revealed that TTE participants were more positive about their leadership preparation than the PDS participants. However, the interviews revealed that PDS graduates were more likely to assume leadership roles than their TTE colleagues. The perceptions of the teachers were mostly positive however, in the area of urban preparation, the PDS participants felt that they were more prepared than their TTE colleagues.