A Connective Tissue: University Supervisors/Coaches within a Teacher Residency

This critical ethnographic project explores the role of university supervisors and coaches (USCs) working with pre-service educators within a teacher residency in a Southeastern U.S. city. The project explores the research questions: how do university supervisors and coaches within a teacher residency support pre-service teachers in navigating the university, district/placement school, and classroom? Similarly, how did a USC sense-making space help USCs in thinking through how to support their pre-service educators? Critical ethnographic methods including participant observations, interviews, and document analysis were utilized. The USC sense-making space operated as a third-space where the USCs worked together in ways that went beyond the either-or (university or school knowledge) to draw direct connections between theory and practice, and the different institutions. The pre-service educators noted how the professional development sessions, one-on-one coaching, personal and professional de-briefs, and more general support aided in navigating the first year of residency programming. Similarly, monthly professional development sessions supported pre-service educators in connecting theory to practice. However, working within/across institutions came with complexities as there were issues with navigating power relations across the various relationships. The USCs operated as a connective tissue for pre-service educators maneuvering the multiple intersecting institutions.