













































Preparing Teacher Candidates for Diverse Learners: Are We Doing Enough?


Volume 2, Issue 2 
2019 

Allies for Education 2018, 2, 2 
https://journals.library.csuci.edu/ojs/index.php/afe 

 
Preparing Teacher Candidates for Diverse Learners: 
Are We Doing Enough? 

 
Melissa Anne Spence 
Assistant Professor 
California Lutheran University 

Tymika Wesley 
Assistant Professor 
California Lutheran University

Research focused on the academic achievement of K-12 students indicates that students from 
historically non-dominant communities continue to receive inequitable and/or ineffective educational 
opportunities (Ladson-Billings, 2006; National Research Council, 2002). These historically non-dominant 
communities include culturally and linguistically diverse students as well as students with disabilities. 
Traditionally acknowledged as an achievement gap, this disparity in academic achievement between 
historically non-dominant student populations and their peers creates barriers to the achievement of a 
quality education for all, despite federal legislation to do so (e.g., Every Student Succeeds Act, 2015). 
Disproportionality, or the overrepresentation of marginalized groups in special education, further 
threatens equity in educational practices (Carter, Skiba, Arredondo, & Pollock, 2017).  

To ensure the achievement of all students, it is necessary for educators to embrace and leverage the 
diversity existing in today’s classrooms by designing equitable instructional experiences that affirm and 
validate students’ diverse ways of learning and knowing (Kea & Trent, 2013). However, for this to occur, 
teachers must (a) be prepared to delve into culturally responsive teaching practices, and (b) understand 
how to design instruction in a culturally responsive fashion. The onus of responsibility thus falls to 
teacher preparation programs to not only ensure teacher candidates are prepared to engage diverse 
learners but to adequately assess their candidates’ readiness to bring their knowledge to their students. 
In the following paper, we examine the literature regarding culturally responsive teaching practices and 
teacher-efficacy in implementing such practices. We further reflect on the alignment of our own teacher 
preparation program to the current literature and how we assess teacher candidates’ ability to design 
equitable instructional environments for diverse learners. 



Preparing Teacher Candidates for Diverse Learners: Are We Doing 
Enough? 
Melissa Anne Spence;Tymika Wesley 

Allies for Education 2018, 2, 2 
https://journals.library.csuci.edu/ojs/index.php/afe 
 

The Current Landscape 
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015) requires states to annually evaluate teacher education 
programs to ensure teacher candidates are learning skills and building the necessary disposition to 
provide instruction to culturally and linguistically diverse students (Darling-Hammond et al., 2016). The 
California Department of Education (CDE) has created Teacher Performance Expectations (TPEs) which 
require teacher candidates to demonstrate proficiency in employing inclusive pedagogical practices 
(CDE, n.d.). Further, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004) demands academic rigor 
and opportunity for all students with disabilities, offering safeguards to protect against misidentification 
and placements in restrictive, segregated learning environments. However, despite legal protections 
and state mandates, many students continue to fall through the cracks. Students of color are 
disproportionately represented in special education classrooms (Shealey, McHatton, & Wilson,  2011; 
Sullivan & Bal, 2013). A 2016 national report found that American Indian/Alaska Native and Black 
students had the highest percentages of students served under IDEA (16% and 15% respectively) 
followed by students who are White (13%), Hispanic (12%), Pacific Islander (11%), and Asian (6%) (Musu-
Gillete et al., 2016). Further, once deemed eligible for special education services, students of color are 
more likely to receive services in more segregated settings (i.e., an isolated special education classroom 
vs. an inclusive general education setting) (Skiba et al., 2011) and are more likely to miss academic 
instruction. At a rate of 48.4%, Black students, both male and female, are suspended from school at far 
higher rates than their Asian (11.2%), White (21.4%), and Hispanic (22.6%) peers (Musu-Gillete et al., 
2016). Further, linguistically and culturally diverse students are less likely to meet academic learning 
standards (Garcia, Arias, Harris Murri, & Serna, 2010). For the 2018 California statewide assessment, 
Asian (75%) and White (64%) students were more likely to meet or exceed standards than their Hispanic 
(38%) and Black (32%) peers (CDE, 2018).  

While this data highlights an achievement gap, the challenges are much more complex than mere 
differences in achievement. An achievement gap is a scholastic disparity between groups of students 
(Ladson-Billings, 2013a). However, the term achievement gap ignores underlying historical, political, and 
economic factors for such academic discrepancies (Flores, 2018). More recent literature reframes 
conversations regarding student achievement to include systemic causes of inequities in educational 
attainment, such as reduced access to: well funded and adequately resourced schools, certified and 
experienced teachers, rigorous curriculum, and student-centered practices (Boykin & Noguera, 2011; 
Gorski, 2013). Thus, the term opportunity gap often replaces achievement gap in the literature (Gorski, 
2013; Ladson-Billings, 2013b). Opportunity gaps not only acknowledge the societal and systemic 
inequities leading to student underperformance but shifts our cultural lens from achievement resulting 
from reactive responses (e.g., removal from inclusive settings) to opportunity resulting from proactive 
measures (e.g., designing instruction accessible to all students) (Ladson-Billings, 2013b).  

Culturally Responsive Teaching in Teacher Preparation Programs 
Conceptual and pedagogical models have emerged to assist teachers in envisioning proactive planning 
and instruction as a way to minimize opportunity gaps. For example, Culturally Responsive Teaching 
(Gay, 2000) and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (Ladson-Billings, 1995) focus on planning instruction that 
leverages students’ cultural assets and responds to students' specific academic needs. Culturally 



Preparing Teacher Candidates for Diverse Learners: Are We Doing 
Enough? 
Melissa Anne Spence;Tymika Wesley 

Allies for Education 2018, 2, 2 
https://journals.library.csuci.edu/ojs/index.php/afe 
 

Sustaining Pedagogy (Paris, 2012) highlights the critical importance of including students’ cultural 
references and funds of knowledge in instructional decisions and designing instruction that affirms 
students’ cultural ways of being and knowing.  

Pedagogical Design Capacity (PDC) frames pedagogical planning and can be helpful in assessing 
pedagogical planning skills in pre-service teachers. PDC is a conceptual framework examining self-
efficacy in infusing one’s personal resources (i.e. knowledge, beliefs, identity, orientations) into external 
curriculum (Lim, Son & Kim, 2018). The PDC framework supports culturally responsive pedagogical 
practices, offsetting the limitations of traditional and standardized curriculum materials typically 
designed for wide, rather than targeted, student audiences. In order to directly target diverse student 
needs, PDC allows teachers to modify and adapt curriculum in ways that affirm diverse cultural 
experiences and capitalize on students’ assets (Beyer & Davis, 2012; Brown, 2009). The PDC framework 
describes three patterns, or strategies, of curriculum use—offloading, adapting, and improvising 
(Brown, 2009). Offloading refers to using the provided curriculum with fidelity. Adapting uses the 
provided curriculum as a resource but adds, deletes, or modifies elements as needed. Improvising refers 
to designing instruction from scratch, minimally assisted by existing resources. In terms of curriculum 
use, adapting seems to be the most effective strategy for teacher candidates. Lim et al. (2018), 
examined teacher candidates’ capacity for lesson planning and found that when given the option to 
design lessons using any of the PDC strategies, pre-service teachers were most skilled in adapting. Those 
who employed this strategy also reported greater self-efficacy regarding their lesson design and 
implementation. Improvising was the most difficult strategy. Pre-service teachers struggled to 
independently design lessons that effectively addressed learning objectives, utilized students’ 
background knowledge, and responded to students’ academic needs.  

Lastly, The Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence (CREDE) created a set of 
standards focused on providing effective instruction to diverse student populations. The CREDE 
standards (2006) include: Joint Productive Activity (collaboration), Language and Literacy Development 
(developing academic language across content), Contextualization (connecting students’ prior 
knowledge and lived experiences), Challenging Activities (adding depth and complexity to instruction), 
and Instructional Conversations (encouraging academic dialogue). Rather than a strict reliance on 
curriculum, these standards offer practical guidance for teachers to create instruction incorporating best 
teaching practices. 

Despite these resources, preparing teachers to effectively plan and implement instruction for diverse 
learners remains a consistent challenge for teacher preparation programs (Kea & Trent, 2013; Shealey et 
al., 2011). In examining classroom-based research studies, researchers found that less than one third of 
classroom teachers utilized culturally relevant pedagogy as a way to promote academic success and 
cultural competence (Young, 2010). Many first-year teachers enter the field feeling underprepared to 
handle the level of skill and expertise required to effectively instruct diverse students (Delpit, 2006; 
Paris, 2012). New teachers often struggle to support students in ways that promote cultural 
responsiveness (Kea & Trent, 2013; Shealey et al., 2011). Even veteran teachers have difficulty 
contextualizing and consistently creating learning environments in which instruction connects to the 
lived experiences of their diverse student populations.  



Preparing Teacher Candidates for Diverse Learners: Are We Doing 
Enough? 
Melissa Anne Spence;Tymika Wesley 

Allies for Education 2018, 2, 2 
https://journals.library.csuci.edu/ojs/index.php/afe 
 

Assessing Equitable Planning 
Our teacher preparation program is situated at a small private institution in Southern California. We 
currently utilize a traditional lesson plan template and rubric to assess teacher candidates’ readiness to 
design equitable instruction for diverse student populations. But are we succeeding in this endeavor? 
We wanted to accomplish the following goals while examining our program’s instructional design: (a) 
determine the percentage of students who score ‘Proficient’ or above on lesson planning assignments, 
and (b) review the department’s current lesson plan rubric to ensure its components adequately assess 
teacher candidates’ ability to design equitable instruction.  

Currently, teacher candidates receive a score from 1-4, with 1 deemed ‘Unacceptable’ and 4 rated as 
‘Superior.’ An analysis of rubric data from the last two years indicates the majority of our candidates 
(97%) score at ‘Proficient’ or above (scores of 3 or 4) on lesson plan development. Yet, to what degree 
does this performance indicate their ability to provide equitable and inclusive instruction? In comparing 
the criteria described in our grading rubric against the CREDE standards, we found that our current 
lesson plan rubric focuses heavily on Language and Literacy Development and Contextualization. For 
example, the lesson plan encourages academic language development activities and prompts candidates 
to connect learning goals to students’ prior knowledge. It does not, however, specifically assess 
candidates’ ability to utilize the CREDE standards related to depth, complexity, and the use of academic 
discourse (i.e., Challenging Activities and Instructional Conversations standards). A further comparison 
using the PDC framework highlights the high degree of improvising our lesson plan requires. Candidates 
are required to create a lesson plan from scratch, rather than adapt from the curriculum utilized in their 
student teaching environment. An improvised lesson plan model often proves challenging for pre-
service teachers, as it requires them to design culturally responsive and inclusive instruction with 
minimal curricular support.  

A basic and improvised lesson plan is not enough for us to ensure our teacher candidates are ready for 
diverse student populations. Instead of encouraging candidates to create equitable instruction from 
scratch, we should focus on having candidates adapt district provided curriculum in ways that attend to 
students’ diverse learning needs. Yet, while adjusting the lesson plan and rubric are a start, larger 
challenges still exist. Candidates must observe and interact with culturally responsive teachers and 
classrooms with diverse students to practice designing culturally responsive instruction (Kea & Trent, 
2013). Do our candidates have enough time to know and understand students’ diverse learning needs in 
order to design culturally responsive lesson plans? Do our veteran master teachers and clinical 
supervisors have the self-efficacy and skills to model culturally responsive teaching to candidates? It is 
worth further investigating strategies to assist candidates in designing instruction that meet all of the 
CREDE standards and follow the PDC framework without adding stress and anxiety to an admittedly 
challenging task.  

  



Preparing Teacher Candidates for Diverse Learners: Are We Doing 
Enough? 
Melissa Anne Spence;Tymika Wesley 

Allies for Education 2018, 2, 2 
https://journals.library.csuci.edu/ojs/index.php/afe 
 

About the Authors 
Dr. Mel Spence is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Learning and Teaching in the Graduate 
School of Education. She has 13 years of professional experience working with individuals with autism 
with 10 of those years spent with the Los Angeles Unified School District. Dr. Spence’s research focuses 
on promoting the instructional efficacy for non-verbal students with autism and helping teachers 
implement evidence-based practice within their classrooms. Dr. Spence teaches courses on assessment, 
IEP development, instructional strategies, and non-academic supports. She has been recognized by 
the DADD division of CEC for the Tom E.C. Smith Early Career Award and Best Practitioner Research. 

 

Dr. Tymika Wesley is an Assistant Professor at California Lutheran University. Dr. Wesley teaches courses 
in the Department of Learning and Teaching on instructional design and culturally and linguistically 
diverse K-12 student populations. Dr. Wesley’s research focuses on creating effective learning 
environments for students from historically non-dominant communities, K-12 teacher performance and 
effectiveness, culturally relevant pedagogical practices, and cultural proficiency in teacher preparation 
programs. Dr. Wesley’s work around cultural proficiency is important because it addresses both 
individual and systemic impacts on K-12 student populations that are often under-addressed in 
educational research. 

References 
Beyer, C., & Davis, E. (2012). Developing preservice elementary teachers' pedagogical design capacity for 
reform-based curriculum design. Curriculum Inquiry, 42(3), 386-413. 

Brown, M. W. (2009). The teacher-tool relationship: Theorizing the design and use of the curriculum 
materials. In J. T. Remillard, B. A. Herbel-Eisenmann, & G. M. Lloyd (Eds.), Mathematics teachers at 
work: Connecting curriculum materials and classroom instruction (pp.17-36). New York, NY: Routledge. 

Boykin, A., Noguera, P., & Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. (2011). Creating the 
opportunity to learn: Moving from research to practice to close the achievement gap. Alexandria, VA: 
ASCD.  

California Department of Education (2018). California assessment of student performance and progress 
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https://caaspp.cde.ca.gov/sb2018/Search 

California Department of Education (n.d.). Equity and access. Retrieved October 20, 2018 from: 
https://www.cde.ca.gov/qs/ea/  

Carter, P.L., Skiba, R., Arredondo, M.I., & Pollock, M. (2017). You can’t fix what you don’t look at: 
Acknowledging race in addressing racial discipline disparities. Urban Education 52(2), 207-235. 

Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence (2006). Standards: development of CREDE 
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five-standards-for-effective-pedagogy-and-learning/ 

https://www.cde.ca.gov/qs/ea/


Preparing Teacher Candidates for Diverse Learners: Are We Doing 
Enough? 
Melissa Anne Spence;Tymika Wesley 

Allies for Education 2018, 2, 2 
https://journals.library.csuci.edu/ojs/index.php/afe 
 

Darling-Hammond, L., Bae, S., Cook-Harvey, C., Lam, L., Mercer, C., Podolsky, A., Stosich, E. (2016). 
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National Academy Press. 



Preparing Teacher Candidates for Diverse Learners: Are We Doing 
Enough? 
Melissa Anne Spence;Tymika Wesley 

Allies for Education 2018, 2, 2 
https://journals.library.csuci.edu/ojs/index.php/afe 
 

Paris, D. (2012). Culturally sustaining pedagogy: A needed change in stance, terminology, and practice. 
Educational Researcher, 41(3), 93–97.  

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culturally responsive teaching in special education. Teaching Education, 22(4), 377-396. 

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Young, E. (2010). Challenges to conceptualizing and actualizing culturally relevant pedagogy: How viable 
is the theory in classroom practice? Journal of Teacher Education, 61(3), 248–260.  


	Preparing Teacher Candidates for Diverse Learners: Are We Doing Enough?
	The Current Landscape
	Culturally Responsive Teaching in Teacher Preparation Programs
	Assessing Equitable Planning
	About the Authors
	Dr. Tymika Wesley is an Assistant Professor at California Lutheran University. Dr. Wesley teaches courses in the Department of Learning and Teaching on instructional design and culturally and linguistically diverse K-12 student populations. Dr. Wesley...
	References

