Critics of Early Field Experience (EFE) for preservice teachers have cited a need for shifting focus away from logistical questions (e.g., quantity of time spent in the field, legal questions, administrative schedules) and toward promoting a critically meaningful educational experience for preservice teachers. This paper describes an EFE at…

A study was made of an early field practicum, in elementary education, which theoretically emphasized quantity and diversity in the students' field experiences and allowed them the opportunity to apply newly acquired curriculum methods and theories. Ten student teachers were intensively interviewed and observed over a six month period. It was…

Student teachers were observed at their practicum sites and in their university courses to determine the relationship of education courses to field experiences in an elementary education program designed to integrate these two components. The curriculum and nature of instruction found at the practicum sites were highly structured, predetermined,…