Time pressures, meeting children's needs, dealing with nonteaching tasks, maintaining early childhood philosophy and practice, meeting personal needs, parent issues, interpersonal relationships, and attitudes and perceptions about early childhood programs were the major sources of stress that were identified in a study of eight Australian…

Studied four teacher educators engaged in a cooperative self-study of their practice with regard to the use of case writing in their elementary preservice courses. Participants had similar definitions of cases. They realized that their different research agendas led to differences in their teaching practice. They valued what they learned about…

This study explored the applicability of Schon's notion of reflective practice for student teachers in practicum settings. Case studies of student teachers in a practicum found 15 reflective themes and up to 4 precipitants per theme, with 47 factors that enhanced or constrained reflection. Four strategies for promoting student teacher reflection…

Addresses the lack of theory and directing constructs for reflective practice in teacher education, reviewing Vygotskyian and Piagetian theoretical tenets, relating them to a developmental action/reflection framework for adult learners, and summarizing a taxonomy for differentiating reflection according to adult learners' needs. Summarizes the…

This exploratory study used interviews, essays, and survey data to examine efforts of 212 college students studying elementary education to think reflectively through the process of constructing portfolios based on their experiences in a community service-learning program. Recommendations include encouraging student ownership and individual…

Examined the development of critical reflection in preservice secondary social studies teachers during one student teaching semester. Using action research, the study investigated student teachers' deliberation about the ethical and moral basis of their work as teachers and reflection on the broader social conditions of teaching. Results revealed…

Investigated preservice teachers' beliefs about and understanding and use of reflection, interviewing preservice teachers who, together with their mentors, used a reflective framework in the context of a Professional Development School. Results indicated that the use of the framework helped develop preservice teachers who actively thought about…

Reexamined Fuller's concerns-based model of teacher development, investigating teacher development during a two-semester teaching internship program by examining patterns of evolving concerns and aspirations. Results supported and extended Fuller's developmental model. Interns' concerns shifted outward from self, to tasks, to students, as well as…

Examined changes in preservice teachers' perceived types of conflicts and tensions and reasons and strategies for coping with them during their year-long clinical experiences and first year of teaching. Interviews indicated that there were four main conflict types. As participants gained experience and grappled with conflicts and tensions, they…

A study of five mentors in a K-5 professional development school investigated how mentors talk about their theories of how novices learn to teach, use different sources of knowledge to help novices learn to teach, and model and encourage critical reflection about critical issues in teacher education. (IAH)

Examined the timing of reflection-on-action on the beliefs of 36 Dutch elementary student teachers using self-directed teaching methods. Data from student teacher questionnaires administered at four different times indicate that reflection after student teaching may be more effective in promoting attitude change than reflection-oriented learning…

Using the concept of well-remembered events, this study examined how members of 13 elementary school cooperating teacher/student-teacher dyads interpreted the same teaching events. Qualitative differences were found which are discussed in terms of expert-novice studies, teachers knowledge as event structured, and personal narrative in teaching.…

The case study reported here describes two student teachers' thinking related to emergent issues during their first field placement for a course exploring elementary reading instruction. The students submitted journals, lesson plans, portfolios, field notes, and discussion group reflections. Data analysis indicated the students had very different…

To determine conceptions of mentoring, Swedish researchers videotaped mentoring sessions between student teachers and their cooperating teachers and conducted interviews with both groups. Data analysis indicated that the two groups had different conceptions about the function of mentoring and its content and form. (SM)

Explored efforts, within an action research study of a 3- year Inservice Education and Training (INSET) program, to implement reflective approaches in training unqualified and underqualified elementary teachers in Namibia. Results found that western approaches to teacher reflection could not be used productively with Namibian teachers unless there…