The personal perspectives of a teacher can support or hinder successful outcomes for students with disabilities. With the increasing prevalence of diverse and inclusive P-12 classrooms, the attitude of the general education teacher is of great importance. Consequently, it is imperative that teacher preparation programs work with community partners…

Education for people with a disability has changed over the years, moving from a philosophy of integration to inclusion. This philosophy requires a whole school approach spanning issues such as access, opportunities for learning, social experiences and developing a culture of acceptance. While this poses many challenges for individuals, schools…

Through the examination of the experiences of a pre-service teacher participating in a field-based science methods course, we make evident the ways in which a combination of collaborative teaching experiences and reflexive dialogues allowed for the evolution and transformation of her identity. This teacher is Johaira Lara, the second author of…

This article describes a structure to help preservice teachers get invaluable field experience by aligning theory with practice supported by the integration of elementary school children into their university mathematics methodology course. This course structure allowed preservice teachers to learn about teaching mathematics in a nonthreatening…

Preservice early childhood educators responded in daily reflection journals on their field experience in local elementary classrooms. These journal entries were categorized according to the frequency of the responses. The focus of the study became the nature of the initial impressions that these preservice educators had of their cooperating…

A mediating approach is implemented into a section of Block I courses elementary pre-service teachers took in a cohort setting in Spring 2002. The paper discusses the components of the approach as well as the logistics of the initial implementation. Furthermore, the paper provides qualitative and quantitative analysis of a set of data gathered…

Describes a two-day field experience program for reducing preservice teachers' negative expectations of urban schools. The program occurred in a school using the Paideia approach (the belief that all students can make substantial academic progress). Student surveys and reflection indicated that attitudes and expectations were positively influenced…

Examined a partnership and a single-placement model of early field experience, using mentor and preservice teacher interviews, preservice teacher ime logs, and planning session transcripts. All respondents valued their experiences, but those in partnership placements felt better supported and engaged in greater instructional risks within the…

This study used repeated measures of the Pupil Control Ideology (PCI) instrument to examine the change in student teacher orientation toward pupil control ideology occurring during a three semester field experience. The instrument was given to elementary and secondary education majors at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale five different…

Studied six intern teachers' reflections on past and future teaching experiences, noting the need for more emphasis on reflection to help prospective teachers look ahead as well as back. Themes emerging from interns' graphical and verbal descriptions of their internships were: discrepancy between anticipated and actual experience; reliance on…

Given the growing demands and intricacies of today's schools, teacher preparation programs must foster meaningful learning experiences conducive to meeting those complex conditions. Since teachers do not face compliant social conditions within schools, they must have optimal learning opportunities during preservice education. Teacher professional…

In working with preparatory teachers, we have tried to "place diversity front and center" to help students "see culture" as a prerequisite for culturally responsive teaching. The language arts methods-course students who, like the authors, are White women from middle-or upper-income families, participated in learning opportunities that included…

Central Missouri State University faculty forged partnerships with teachers in urban charter schools in Kansas City in an effort to ensure that early childhood teacher candidates' field experiences would take place in school environments with diverse populations of students. During the spring 2001 semester, early childhood teacher candidates were…

A program for preservice special education students at William Paterson College (New Jersey) offered participants field experience working with minority and disadvantaged students. Undergraduate students in their sophomore, junior, or senior classes spent one and two hours per week engaged in course assignments with pupils at the school under…

A particularly difficult problem for teacher educators is preparing teachers who both understand and are able to work with students who are educationally disadvantaged, and/or are at-risk academically. Most preservice teachers have little or no contact with these students and therefore never learn how to help them overcome academic deficiencies.…