Preservice Teachers of Color as Critical Systems Thinkers: Decoding Organizational Culture Through Equity-Focused Professional Development

This study examines how equity- and systems-focused professional development (PD) shapes preservice teachers of color (PTOCs) as they learn to interpret and navigate the organizational cultures of educator preparation programs (EPPs) and school districts. Grounded in Organizational Culture Theory and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy, the study uses a qualitative case study design to analyze how four PTOCs engaged in a year-long PD initiative alongside in-service teachers and district leaders. Findings reveal that participants identified contradictions between EPPs’ espoused commitments to equity and their lived experiences with curriculum, faculty representation, and support structures. Through PD and clinical practice, PTOCs developed the capacity to decode artifacts, values, and underlying assumptions in districts, informing their perceptions of recruitment, inclusion, and long-term retention. The study highlights how culturally sustaining, systems-oriented PD cultivates critical consciousness and design agency, while also exposing structural tensions that contribute to the leaky pipeline for teachers of color.