This qualitative study aims to provide insight into why teacher candidates, interested in pursuing K-12 teaching, made the decision to leave their traditional teacher preparation programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers utilized sociocultural theory as the framework to ground the research. The study finds the educational disruption…

This research examined the critical incidents of 10 United States (US) early childhood student teachers during a three-week university-sponsored international field experience conducted in three urban preschools in Kathmandu, Nepal. The purpose of employing the critical incident technique was to allow the US student teachers to reflect critically…

Using epistemic perspectives as a theoretical framework, this study investigated Australian pre-service teachers' perspectives about knowing, knowledge and children's learning, as they engaged in a semester-long unit on philosophy in the classroom. During the field experience component of the unit, pre-service teachers were required to teach at…

This study of the influence of critic teachers on the values of student teachers over year-long periods suggests that preservice teachers should be assigned to many different critic teachers with varying philosophical positions on education and schooling during the field experience. (MB)

This paper examines the subject of student teaching from four different angles. The first, why student teaching is popular and successful, points out five positive benefits in this method of learning: (1) It offers a good opportunity for problem solving in real classroom situations; (2) Student teaching produces results that are emotionally…

Previous research on the effect of technology-based preservice education programs has been assessed by examining changes in computer ability and attitudes. Systematic exploration looking at the effect of these programs on computer use has been noticeably absent. In addition, the role of emotions and use of computers has been largely ignored with…

This study sought to determine the effects of early field experience on the attitudes of elementary preservice teachers toward the career of teaching and the teaching environment of the elementary school. Participants in the study were 95 elementary teacher education students enrolled in an internship program at the University of South Florida in…

Teacher education in the U.S. faces a critical dilemma: preparing white, middle-class preservice teachers to teach increasingly diverse student populations in public schools. Early field experiences (EFEs) show promise for addressing this mismatch, yet little is actually known about what happens to preservice teachers in practicum experiences.…

Elementary and secondary preservice teachers' philosophical perspectives were examined before and after their participation in field-based activities in a professional development school. A philosophical perspective survey was administered at the start and again at the end of the semester. The five categories were existentialism, behaviorism,…

This study compared preservice teachers' perceptions of their changing philosophies of education, comparing the reports of graduates from traditional, university-based programs with reports of graduates from intensive field-based programs. For eight semesters, teacher education graduates received a program evaluation survey in the mail 2 weeks…

This study compared the attitudes of preservice physical educators after field experiences in adapted physical education and also compared attitudinal changes between those with such field experiences and those without. Subjects (n=63) all received 8 weeks of adapted physical education classroom instruction. One-third then experienced an 8-week…

This study was designed to provide a rich description of the changing perceptions student teachers had about increased personal growth and enhanced global awareness as a result of teaching placements in foreign countries. The study included an examination of research on the impact of international student teaching (IST) experiences, description of…

Reports a study that assessed changes in student teachers' attitudes toward inner-city teaching resulting from participation in a field-based practicum in an urban elementary school. Pre- and postpracticum surveys indicated that such experiences can yield positive results as long as certain crucial elements are in place. (SM)

Researchers analyzed journals and essays from an elementary teacher education course, examining white prospective teachers' changing views about inner-city schools with minority children as they completed fieldwork and relevant readings. The experiences helped them question old assumptions about urban students and teaching and about the value of…