A team of teacher educators conducted a phenomenological study to explore the perceptions of teacher candidates (TCs), their cooperating teachers (CTs), and university supervisors (USs) during and after they participated in a redesigned seven-week practicum that led directly into seven weeks of student teaching. Data were collected via two surveys…

This paper, based in Northern Ireland, is a case study of an innovative programme which places year 3 B.Ed. post-primary student teachers of Technology and Design into industry for a five-day period. The industrial placement programme is set in an international context of evolving pre-service field placements and in a local context defined by the…

The purpose of this action research study was to investigate undergraduate preservice student-teachers' interpretations of written reflections and how these written reflections impacted their thoughts about teaching practices. A second question was to investigate how preservice teachers talked about their processes of reflection beyond the…

The paper evaluates a programme of short alternative placements for final-year B.Ed. students in Northern Ireland, which aims to broaden student teachers' experience and develop their transferable skills. The alternative placement programme is set first in an international context of evolving pre-service field placements and then set in a local…

Post-field-experience opinions of teacher candidates revealed beliefs that (1) characteristics of good and bad teachers lie in the affective area; (2) technical skills are more important than cognitive skills; (3) good teaching is viewed as related to skill in instructional techniques; and (4) poor teaching is more highly associated with affective…

Agricultural student teachers (n=36) rated core elements of their field experience. They recognized the importance of relationships with cooperating teachers before and after the experience. Supervised agricultural experience was the only area rated lower after field experience. (Contains 23 references.) (SK)

This article is based on research with a group of one-year Postgraduate Certificate in Education secondary trainee teachers during their initial teacher education and training in England. It considers tensions between trainees' prior experiences and conceptions of teaching and their training programme. In doing so, it seeks to examine how a…

The stated purpose of this study was to measure the effects of a public school field experience upon the achievement, educational philosophy, and attitudes of teacher trainees enrolled in an introductory educational psychology course. The study centers on a new approach used in organizing and teaching introductory educational psychology which…

A study was done to examine the effects of an Early Field Experience Program on interpersonal skills. Results supported the hypothesis that early teaching experience positively affects the interpersonal capabilities of prospective teachers. Therefore, a prospective teacher participating in this program is better equipped to establish more…

Findings of an ethnographic study of student teaching experiences in a program emphasizing field-based practicums are explored. What students do in practicum sites, what influences behavior, ideas, attitudes, and different ways students respond to placement are described. Also discussed are how these findings are related to theoretical constraints…

This study compared undergraduate and graduate student teachers' and alternate route teachers' sense of efficacy and views of their teacher preparation programs. A one-way analysis of variance indicated that student teachers in the undergraduate program had higher teacher efficacy than the other two groups of teachers. Alternate route teachers and…

Attitude changes by student teachers resulting from participation in early field-based experiences in an inner-city elementary school were examined. Introductory sophomore-level courses (Introduction to Exceptional Children, Foundations of Educational Thought, and Human Growth and Development) were offered to two groups of students in a…

The Purdue Student Teacher Opinionnaire was administered to 142 student teachers in an attempt to measure differences in attitude between student teachers in different preparation programs, in different student teaching situatuions, and in different program situation interactions. The following factors were examined to determine whether attitudes…

The major purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of regional/rural placements for student teachers. A secondary purpose was to discern attitude change among student teachers, cooperating teachers, and principals involved in the program. An evaluation was also made of the effectiveness of secondments, personnel…