21st International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

New York has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of diverse students, including immigrant groups. The teaching force, however, remains disproportionately white. Research underscores that in order for multilingual, multiethnic, and multiracial teacher candidates to successfully enter the teaching profession, teacher and paraprofessional preparation programs need to alter some of their practices, including recruiting and skill acquisition. While these are important issues to address, an even fuller understanding of the complexity of the paraprofessional education path is needed. This study identifies a significant barrier for students working to become paraprofessionals: access to information about navigating local and state requirements. The current work examines the needs of paraprofessional candidates at an urban community college and presents findings from a pilot support program to increase paraprofessional licensure.