In their 1970 guidelines for teacher-preparation programs (TPPs), TESOL's founders promoted practicum experiences that include "systematic directed observation, supervised teaching practice and progressive teaching responsibilities." TPPs with field experiences as centerpieces of their programs have been more effective in meeting the…

The aim of this article was to shed light on problematic issues related to the practical element in early childhood teacher education. We approach these questions mainly through scrutinizing and interpreting this part of kindergarten teachers' university education in Finland. We then expand our analysis to include the broader issues of job…

The ongoing focus on dispositions demonstrates the need for teacher educators to help preservice teachers develop from self-as-student to self-as-teacher. Our qualitative study examined preservice teachers' perceptions as they transitioned from university students to teaching professionals in a field experience program prior to student teaching.…

This research paper documents what learning designs, teaching methods and teaching activities were most commonly used by pre-service teachers and experienced teachers as observed by the pre-service teachers when on their practicum visits in schools. The paper also outlines the benefits of documenting learning designs so that good teaching practice…

In March 2009, seventeen preservice teachers and their Faculty of Education supervisors spent three weeks living in rural Kenya and teaching in the schools built and supported by a well-known NGO. The impact of this experience on the preservice teachers was studied nine months after the trip. Now, over four years later, we have conducted a further…

Fresh from teaching his first full school year the author reflects on his traditional teacher preparation path into the classroom and finds he was instilled with a common sense of ethics, compassion, a demand for reflective practice, and a robust guiding philosophy. As a college student, he learned theory and was able to augment that with…

Thirty-two pre-service special education teachers carried out a 14-week informal practicum arranged for the purposes of this research to accompany the three classes they were taking in their program of study and to provide them with the needed setting and opportunities for hands-on experiences and reflection as they construct an understanding of…

This paper examined undergraduate pre-service teachers' perceptions of their expectations, fulfilment of these expectations and the relevance of their coursework for classroom practices during three different practicum attachments. These aspects were assessed using questionnaires implemented at the end of each attachment. One-way ANOVA with…

For decades, group work scholars have described a discrepancy between student preparation for group work practice and opportunities to work with groups in the field practicum and professional practice. Educators in related disciplines such as counseling and psychology have expressed similar concerns. This article reports findings of a study of MSW…

Teacher candidates (TCs) use clinical experiences to enact concepts taught in their university courses; therefore field experiences may be the most important component of teacher preparation (Hammerness et al., 2005). TCs require support and guidance as they learn to adapt curriculum materials for effective use in the classroom (Davis, 2006). They…

During 2011 at Simon Fraser University, the Faculty of Education hosted the implementation of a pre-service teacher education program with an emphasis on sustainability and environmental learning. This cohort, termed SEEDs (Sustainability Education in an Environment of Diversity), enrolled 32 teacher education students in an intensive 12-month…

Currently, Australian teacher education programs include professional experiences as a means of enhancing preservice teacher understanding about teaching and the profession. The challenge the programs face is the lack of places available in schools and, at times, the unpredictable quality of the placements as some teachers are time-poor, are not…

Curriculum consonance between social studies teacher education programs and field placements poses a perennial problem to social studies teacher educators and their students. This study explores the types of cooperating teacher placements experienced by preservice social studies teachers during their pre-student teaching field experiences…

The school-based experiences of preservice teachers are much reported in research with school placement often presented as a "high stakes" endeavour. However, there is limited research on the impact of their presence on supervising teachers. This paper highlights supervision as bringing a change to teaching that impacts on teachers' identities.…

Nathalie's experience of becoming a teacher demonstrates how a counter-narrative contributes to negotiating dominant discourses that propagate stories of uniformity and reinforce the status quo within the teaching profession. By offering an alternate perspective of teacher culture as a liminal space, uncertainty symbolizes Nathalie's transition to…