The study reported in this article was focused on the first field experience in a teacher education program developed around themes of equity and social justice within a larger framework of inclusive education. The community-based field experience entails one-on-one mentoring in which elementary preservice teachers (PSTs) work with African…

A teacher education program designed to adequately prepare preservice teachers to instruct culturally and linguistically diverse students in their classrooms is described. Under the supervision of a professor and a graduate assistant in a required methods course at a private midwestern Christian university, 24 preservice teachers, who use a…

Wartburg College (Iowa) and Waterloo (Iowa) Public Schools have cooperated to implement a teacher preparation program designed specifically for minority Teacher Associates who are employed in the Waterloo Schools and to enhance the diversity training of all graduates of the Wartburg teacher education program. The program was initiated and…

Field education or the practicum experience is at the core of most early childhood education preservice programs because it is viewed as the most significant contributor to the development of professional expertise. The Early Childhood Education Program at Ryerson Polytechnic University in Toronto, Canada, requires 600 hours of field education…

The Research About Teacher Education (RATE) Project is an ongoing data collection effort to establish a reliable database about institutions of higher education where teachers are prepared, and about the faculty, students, and programs at these institutions. The data reported in this monograph were taken from four questionnaires--separate faculty…

A three-part program in elementary teacher education was initiated as an experimental and alternative approach to a traditional teacher education program, and students and faculty members in this elementary education program (EEP) were observed and interviewed during two university quarters (six months). The EEP was organized around three…

The Texas legislature has provided funding for the initiation of professional development schools, locally known as centers for professional development and technology. This article examines the concept from the perspective of resources that will be needed to institutionalize field-based, technology-intensive teacher education programs. (Author/SM)

In an effort to establish a quality middle grades teacher education program that would be responsive to local needs, the Middle Grades Education (MGE) faculty at Georgia's Valdosta State University implemented Reality 401, a field based program, in Fall 1992. The program is a senior year teacher education program designed to provide a…

Professional Development Schools (PDS) are designed not only to educate novice teachers but also to be places where university and school faculties can collaborate on research and development. This study, the initial phase of a longitudinal study, attempts to discover if an early PDS experience can develop a stronger beginning teacher than a…

The papers in this monograph represent responses to criticisms of teacher education. The theme connecting the papers is reflection and change in teacher education. The following papers are included: (1) "Computers in Education--Another Failed Technology?" (Thomas A. Drazdowski); (2) "Selected Effects of Cooperative Learning"…

The Nebraska University Secondary Teacher Education Program (NUSTEP) incorporates educational equity concepts through a four-phased, theory-to-practice performance- and field-based teacher training program. The program was developed by college faculty, resource personnel in educational equity, and staff representatives from the Lincoln Public…

Proposes restructuring preservice teacher education programs to include the preparation of teacher researchers. Teacher educators redesigned two existing programs to include research methodology instruction. The paper presents methods of inquiry and strategies used to teach about research, offering examples of student work and evidence to support…

This paper describes several practices designed to challenge preservice teachers to question their assumptions regarding multiculturalism and to explore other points of view. The "Culture Walk" at Susquehanna University (Pennsylvania) increases awareness and sensitivity to interpersonal and personal identities. It involves writing and…

The purpose of this longitudinal qualitative inquiry was to describe the socially constructed, negotiated, and contextual nature of an early field placement in an urban elementary school. The objectives were to document subtle changes over time in preservice teachers' reading/language arts subject matter knowledge and teaching beliefs and…

This paper reports the findings of a year-long study of 11 preservice teachers' perceptions of the first year of a teacher preparation program. These students were interviewed individually at least four times, and reported that learning concrete teaching methods was one of the most valuable aspects of their preparation because these methods could…