An Action Research Study of Barriers to Paraprofessional/Teaching Assistant Licensure in New York Community Colleges

Authors

Tonya L. Johnson, CUNY Bronx Community CollegeFollow

Document Type

Working Paper

Publication Date

Summer 7-24-2017

Abstract

The majority of New York State teachers remain disproportionately White, while their student populations grow increasingly diverse, and New York has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of diverse students, often referred to as students of color, including a large number of immigrant groups, in nearly all regions of the state. Recently published research has underscored that in order for multilingual, multiethnic, and multiracial teacher candidates to successfully enter the teaching profession, teacher preparation programs may need to alter some of their practices. In particular, the bulk of the research highlighted a need to expand recruiting for more diverse teaching candidates. While acknowledging the importance of this research calling for a more diverse teaching force, the current work examines 5 years of educational outcomes for teacher candidates at an urban community college. By examining the survey data, this action research study highlighted one New York community college’s continued social inequities and barriers that hindered postgraduation paraprofessional licensure and employment.