Challenges for Clinical Practice
Teacher education programs across the country are increasingly under the spotlight. State and federal funding to universities and their colleges of education is decreasing, while more and more is demanded from them. Other challenges include a decline in enrollment in teacher education programs, struggles to attract diverse teacher candidates and faculty, perceptions that teaching is not a desirable career, and the difficulty in filling high-needs areas. (AACTE, 2018).
An additional report by the American Association of Teacher Education (2019) reveals even more disturbing data related to challenges that face diverse students pursuing a degree in education. While white students often maintain part-time jobs while pursuing a degree in education, nearly 20% of African Americans are employed as full-time employees while enrolled as a student in a teacher preparation program. African American students tend to have more family caretaking obligations than their white counterparts, are often not enrolled for the full academic year, and one in five African American students who are education majors is a single parent. Hispanic students often come from homes where they are the first to pursue a degree in education, and 22% of their parents did not complete high school (AACTE, 2019). These statistics indicate that Hispanics and African Americans education students may face unique challenges that they must be overcome. In order to be successful, they need innovative resources and supports that will help them manage their personal obligations, overcome struggles as first-generation college students, and handle the increased financial burden that clinical teaching may present.
Declining enrollments in EPPs directly impact the school districts. Many school districts are facing challenging shortages in the teacher pipeline. According to ACT (2015), the percentage of high school students interested in pursuing teaching as a career decreased 3% from 2010 to 2014. Enrollment in teacher preparation programs dropped a whopping 35% nationally between 2009 and 2014, while P-12 student enrollment is expected to grow by 3 million in the next decade (Berry & Shields, 2017). Reasons vary for the drop in the teacher workforce such as political climate, unstable pay, and lack of support as beginning teachers. Regardless of the cause, school districts are faced with having more students, yet fewer teachers, for their classrooms.
Need for Innovation
Partnerships between education preparation programs and school districts are not new, but when thoughtfully executed, can reap benefits of recruiting a diverse teacher workforce for the future. In addition, effective partnerships can address inequities and exclusivity in teacher preparation programs, while unifying efforts to combat enrollment declines, attracting diverse teacher candidates and faculty, and filling high-needs areas (AACTE, 2018).