Abstract
The preparation of urban educators has gained widespread attention across education policy, research, and practice. As US urban cities have become more diverse, the teacher workforce has not kept up, and the racial/ethnic demographics of students and teachers are disproportionately incongruent. In order to eradicate an education landscape that perpetuates white, middle-class ways of knowing and being, often at the expense of the cultural practices and cultural wealth of historically marginalized students of color, urban teacher education must be centered toward justice and rooted in critical pedagogies. The literature, albeit bleak, reveals that these perspectives must also be applied to urban dance education. Dance education programs have been significantly eliminated from urban schools over time, and although dance has historical roots in African and African diasporic cultures, dance education continues to be Eurocentric. This phenomenological case study examines the emerging critical pedagogies of undergraduate dance majors and minors who served as dance teachers in an urban Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) after-school program for 7-12-year-old Black girls. Findings reveal that (a) navigating race, place, and space; (b) mentorship and practice; and (c) critical reflection and self-efficacy were critical components of the urban dance educators’ emerging critical pedagogies. Implications for urban dance education and the broader field of urban education are provided.
Highlights
The preparation of urban educators has gained widespread attention across education policy, research, and practice for several decades (Acosta, 2018; DarlingHammond, 2010, Milner, 2011)
Four dance educators served as participants in this study as we examined their meaning-making processes and the development of their critical pedagogies in an urban STEAM after-school program for Black girls
Their own urban dance education training was grounded in critical dance pedagogy and culturally sustaining pedagogies
Summary
The preparation of urban educators has gained widespread attention across education policy, research, and practice for several decades (Acosta, 2018; DarlingHammond, 2010, Milner, 2011). As US urban cities become more and more diverse, schools and the demographics of their students represent this upward trend. The teacher workforce both and what is projected in the future is incongruent with the demographic composition of students (Easton-Brooks, 2019; Madkins, 2012; RogersArd et al, 2012). In 2015, 49% of students in US schools were BISOC (Black, Indigenous, Students of Color; Kena et al, 2015), and this number is projected to rise to 55% in 2020 (Green, 2015). White women teachers comprise 60% of the teacher workforce juxtaposed with 5% that are Black women teachers (Allen-Handy & Farinde-Wu, 2017). In the context of urban schools, Black students represent 26% of the student population, while 12% of teachers are Black (Osei-Twumasi & Pinetta, 2019)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
