Structural Inequities and the Achievement Gap in Urban Schools

If teachers represent a child’s most important asset, they also can be a child’s greatest liability, especially in states where a shortage of well-qualified teachers impedes the academic progress of African American students in learning contexts. The author asserts that a transformation in practices must occur in teacher education programs if these programs are to become places where preservice candidates learn to adopt pedagogies that are instrumental in the academic achievement of African American students in urban schools. A proposal for comprehensive, transformative approaches for achieving systemic change is warranted in the eradication of structural inequities that currently exist in urban schools.