Teacher preparation is an essential element of developing effective and successful urban teachers. This section examines the critical aspects of pre-service learning that must take place before teachers enter into the urban domain. Several of the resources consider the great influences of early experiences in the inner city, developing personal relationships, and strengthening specific strategies that have proved to be effective in teaching urban youth.

Below are articles that provide more information concerning the critical aspects of developing an effective urban teacher through pre-service learning.

• This article discusses the importance of providing experiences to teachers before they enter an urban school district. Catapano also discusses the specific qualities that teachers need to acquire to be successful. It is also discussed that teachers need to learn how to communicate with the public, as well as where they can find resources to support any accommodations that need to be made for specific students. The ultimate goal in this article is to develop teachers who can make a difference in their classrooms that positively impacts their students, and who can look to families and communities for support to solve problems.

• This article discusses the qualities that one must have in order to become a successful teacher in the urban school districts. Before entering the schools, teachers must be prepared and given opportunities to enter the urban schools and to have experiences that allow them to address relationships between race, class, culture, literacy, and language. This article also discusses three variables, including attitude, confidence, and interest, which are all important for one to have in order to become an effective urban education teacher.

• This article discusses the importance of teacher commitment within urban school districts. Commitment-oriented strategies in management and leadership approaches emphasize the shaping of desired employee behaviors and strategies. This article also discusses some variables, including conflicts that one might face in the classroom, support for innovation, where new ideas are developed, and participation within the school.

• This article aims to examine how critical teacher inquiry as well as professional support and development can be used to strengthen teacher effectiveness in urban schools. The research involved seven South Central Los Angeles elementary school teachers that use inquiry to support one another as they tackle tremendous adversities such as oppression, inequality, and racism. Regardless, the teachers are brought together by their commitment to social justice, and the article suggests further options for continued professional development in order to address the challenges of urban schools.