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The Urban Review

, Volume 47, Issue 2, pp 341–363 | Cite as

But Good Intentions are Not Enough: Preparing Teachers to Center Race and Poverty

  • H. Richard Milner
  • Judson C. Laughter
Article

Abstract

Drawing from principles of critical race theory, the authors consider the curriculum of teacher education as a potential policy and practice site for centering the interconnections of race and poverty in the preparation of teachers. Several macro-level recommendations are advanced that might influence practices in teacher education and ultimately in P-12 classrooms. These policies suggestions include (1) Reform the curriculum of teacher education to emphasize a deeper study of race; (2) Reform the curriculum of teacher education to emphasize a deeper study of poverty; and (3) Reform the curriculum of teacher education to emphasize a deep study of the nexus between race and poverty. The authors conclude with the observation that although teachers and teacher educators tend to have good intentions, those intentions too often fail to meet the needs of Black and Brown students or students living in poverty.

Keywords

Race Poverty Teacher education Student learning Policy Practice 

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Center for Urban EducationUniversity of PittsburghPittsburghUSA
  2. 2.University of TennesseeKnoxvilleUSA

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