Date of Defense

12-16-2020

Date of Graduation

12-2020

Department

English

First Advisor

James Bosco

Second Advisor

Marcy Peake

Abstract

“Future Teachers of Color: A Documentary” explores the lack of diversity within education and provides a solution. The paper begins by explaining the background of the issue through statistics collected from the United States Department of Education and Michigan Education Data. Once the background has been established, the paper uses peer-reviewed articles to examine the specifics of the issue and its impact. Afterwards, the solution to the problem is introduced by utilizing other outside sources and transitioning into the story of Future Teachers of Color (FTC), a registered student organization at Western Michigan University.

A documentary was the best method to showcase the development and impact of Future Teachers of Color because it exhibits real connections and reactions to it’s foundation. The documentary was put together over a span of months and it was meant to be more traditional but due to the coronavirus and the safety protocols, the documentary’s videos were created over google meet, voice recordings and submitted videos. Despite that, the documentary was able to capture authentic responses to the questions around how FTC was formed, it’s importance and impact and how it would be beneficial for other universities to adopt a similar supportive system for their students of color pursuing education degrees.

Supportive systems are essential to the success of all students. Primarily, in the education field it is known that there is a teacher shortage. On top of that shortage, there is a lack of diversity in the teacher workforce while at the same time, the classrooms and students are becoming more and more diverse. Students of color are having a difficult time entering the education field while in their preparation programs which is why an organization like Future Teachers of Color would be highly beneficial and an effective solution that will expand the number of teachers of color in the U.S education field.

Access Setting

Honors Thesis-Open Access

Included in

Education Commons

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