What are teachers taught about migration? A content analysis of California’s teacher credentialing standards and teacher education course syllabi

The population of immigrant-origin students attending schools outside of their or their parents' countries of origin has dramatically expanded in recent decades. Yet, educators continually report feeling poorly equipped to meet these students' diverse needs. In this study, we used summative content analysis to determine whether the California Teacher Performance Expectations (TPEs) and course syllabi in four Teacher Education Programs (TEPs) in the state include topics related students' immigrant backgrounds that teacher candidates were expected to develop. We found that none of the TPEs contained direct reference to migration or the knowledge and skills that teachers should develop relative to educating children of immigrant backgrounds. However, nearly a third of all course syllabi explicitly listed topics about immigrant-origin youth and/or their families. Our findings highlight gaps in formal teacher credentialing requirements and point to opportunities to expand learning opportunities for future teachers to be better prepared to educate children of immigrants.