Preservice coursework, or courses completed before a teacher’s first year of teaching, is important for teacher preparation and training. It helps new teachers meet the needs of every student. One focus of teacher preparation reform over the last two decades has been about helping teachers meet the needs of increasingly diverse student populations. A new report from the U.S. Department of Education examines the extent of diversity training for public school teachers over the past several decades.
The survey found that 65 percent of public school teachers in the 2017-18 academic year reported that they had training on serving students of diverse backgrounds. Only 48 percent of private school teachers said they had received such training.
Among public school teachers, 74 percent of those who had begun teaching in the 2016-18 period took courses on serving students from diverse backgrounds. Only 40 percent of public school teachers who started in classrooms before 1981 had the same training.
The full report, “Teacher Training to Meet Diverse Student Needs Before Entering the Classroom,” may be downloaded by clicking here.
