While mentoring partnerships between new and more experienced educators have been shown to support early career teachers and improve retention, more research is needed to provide insight into how these mentoring partnerships work. In our study, we draw on sociocultural theory to examine the work of mentors supporting 15 novice teachers serving in…

This study explored the perceptions of preservice teacher candidates who participated in a pilot partnership between a public teacher education preparation program and Junior Achievement (JA). The partnership was grounded in the premise that providing early field experiences to preservice teacher candidates was a necessary requirement of quality…

Our intention in this article is to present one institution's efforts to take on program assessment and respond to calls for accountability. To do so, the teacher education program simultaneously sought to address the narrowly defined measures called for by policy makers and politicians, while at the same time broadening and expanding…

A survey of students at three stages in the preservice education curriculum at Shippensburg State College is analyzed to measure the impact of a prestudent teaching field experience offered in conjunction with an introductory educational psychology course. (JMF)

Teacher training institutions should assess the competency level of their graduates so that needed changes in teacher education programs can be made. A model for assessing teacher education graduates and the teacher education program is described. (CJ)

A survey of graduates of the teacher education program at the University of Northern Iowa is summarized. Among topic areas surveyed were respondents' competencies as beginning teachers, problems encountered when beginning to teach, opinions of major problems in public schools, and evaluation of student teaching experiences. (JMF)

This discussion of the evaluation of teacher education programs starts with the assumption that the most effective teacher education programs are the ones that produce teachers who are most effective in producing desired changes in pupils. (MM)

To determine beginning teachers' reactions to Florida's Beginning Teacher Program (BTP), a one-year teaching experience, education graduates who had experienced the BTP were surveyed. Participants were fairly positive regarding the support they received from the program, which may facilitate new teachers' adjustment to the teaching environment.…

The Teachers Educating and Motivating Students (TEAMS) model emphasizes the use of collaborative school/university partnerships for elementary teacher preparation. This competency-based, structured block program features concurrent enrollment in groups of courses and a corresponding field component. Perception surveys and workplace competency…

This study investigated the effect of the presence or absence of a Videotape Recorder and the use of peer leadership versus supervisor leadership in critique sessions during the preservice training of elementary school teachers using microteaching. (Authors/JA)

This paper presents preliminary evaluation results of the Comprehensive Teacher Institute (CTI), an experimental, state-funded, five-year teacher preparation program located in a large California urban area. Program features include paid student teaching, two years of beginning teacher support, and recruiting underrepresented minorities. CTI…

In an era of resource scarcity and diminished expectations, schools of education must make critical decisions about their degree programs in early childhood education. Reasons for de-emphasizing early childhood education should be balanced against its challenges and rewards. (FG)

Describes a state university/public school system/state department of education partnership that created an alternative certification program for qualified post-baccalaureate minority candidates interested in teaching elementary students. Program evaluations indicate that the program is effectively meeting the need to reduce the disparity between…