Exploring Teacher Concerns of Pre-Collegiate Urban Teaching Academy Students

The purpose of this study was to explore whether the concerns of a group of pre-collegiate students enrolled in an urban teaching academy (UTA) program were unique or similar to those found in earlier studies using Fuller's model as a framework for analysis. Using an instrumental case study approach, findings indicated that the UTA students expressed explorative inquiry concerns. These explorative inquiry concerns were primarily based on introspective reflections of the participants attempting to align their personal qualities with those needed of effective teachers. Results of this study emphasize the need for the expansion of Fuller's three stage model to address explorative inquiry concerns of students in pipeline programs such as the UTA.