Challenging old assumptions: Preparing teachers for inner city schools

The demographics of urban schools in the United States with large numbers of poor children of color pose challenges for teacher educators, since the teaching profession is predominantly white and middle class. An analysis of journals and essays from an elementary teacher education course shows white prospective teachers' changing views about inner city schools with children of color. The article argues that fieldwork in these schools, when coupled with appropriate readings and discussions, offers possibilities for intervention in challenging prospective teachers' views of teaching in these contexts. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.