Teacher Education from an African American Perspective.

This paper focuses on African education and socialization processes and how these have evolved and spread through the African cultural diaspora to other parts of the world, before, during, and after the slave trade and the colonial period. The history of education on the African continent is explored, followed by African American education, and the educational and sociological patterns that have prevented educational advancement and ensured domination to some extent. The paper then looks at how to correct the damage to the teaching and learning processes and addresses areas of the teacher education curriculum. A number of programmatic suggestions are offered, including: (1) practicum sites in schools where the overwhelming majority of teachers are successful with African American students; (2) a valid internship with a master teacher; (3) master professors in teacher education programs; (4) an appropriate cultural knowledge base; (5) study of the origin, dynamics, and consequences of white supremacy; (6) performance criteria and professional knowledge for trainers; (7) theory and its application for trainees; (8) judging the quality of teaching; and (9) networking in the professional community. The study suggests that the cycle of school failure for traditionally excluded students can be broken by looking closely at teachers and teacher educators who do not fail and then imitating them. (Contains 87 references.) (ND)