Teaching in urban schools: mentoring pre‐service teachers to apply advocacy strategies

In this discussion of one university’s teacher education program, steps taken to mentor pre‐service teachers learning to support families and children in urban settings are aligned with advocacy strategies. Using a service‐learning model, teachers explore issues of social justice by completing a full year of field experiences in an urban classroom. Advocacy strategies of recognizing issues that impact families and children, taking the perspective of those who are impacted, and looking for solutions within the context of the classroom, help pre‐service teachers see themselves as possible agents of systemic change as they become classroom teachers. Reflection on the blending of the strategies of service‐learning, mentoring, advocacy development and teacher education leads to the development of an integrated model of teacher education.