A local history course offered as a semester elective to seniors has as its purpose the study of the local community as a microcosm of the United States. The basic principle is to reinforce what the student has already learned in previous history courses. The course proceeds through a chronological sequence of units about various periods of the…

This is a progress report of a project in the process of developing an interdisciplinary secondary school curriculum on the Canadian urban environment. The primary goal is to encourage constructive involvement in urban life and community decision-making, and develop a personal and social competence that will engender a greater commitment to the…

This final report is an assessment of an experimental class designed to determine whether students, grades nine through twelve with diverse backgrounds, could do field research on community problems. The course description and outline of the course define goals and methods of meeting these goals. Samples of materials used are included in the text…

This guide was developed for Ohio's Work SITE Learning Model, a national demonstration project for the integration of academic and vocational learning. The guide is designed to assist schools in conducting effective teacher worksite externship programs that allow teachers to observe workplace practices in order to glean information about academic…

A study examined the effects of prior knowledge on the reading comprehension of disadvantaged first-grade students from an inner-city school in northern Utah. A thematic approach using trade books, field experiences, Language Experience Activities, and student journals was used to increase background knowledge of the at-risk first graders who were…

This paper describes a recent collaboration between a public university teacher education preparation program, a large urban school district, and a neighboring suburban school district. It highlights the professional experiences of teacher education interns who entered the field from prior professions or training. Candidates were immersed in an…

A case study of a rural community in Western Australia examined factors responsible for the progress made in breaking down barriers between youth and adults and building community cohesiveness. Community documents and interviews with school personnel, students, and community members revealed that the high school worked with the community to build…

This paper describes the Sophomore Multicultural Internship for preservice teachers at Moorhead State University, Minnesota. From 1990-95, the program immersed preservice teachers in cross-cultural encounters and K-12 clinical experiences intended to: engender enlightened tolerance; provide an embedded context for making moral choices to pursue…

This study examined whether a sequence of graduate field experiences integrated throughout a teacher training program would result in differentiated responses of competence and self-confidence. Participants were graduate students in a traditional preservice program (group 1) and those in a more accelerated program combining fieldwork with evening…

This addendum addresses questions of interest to state education policy makers, also elaborating on questions posed in the original work. Issues examined include: the extent to which subject knowledge contributes to teacher effectiveness; the extent to which knowledge of pedagogical theory, learning theory, or child development contribute…

This study examined the professional self-perceptions and self-esteem of Hong Kong student teachers, investigating the impact of teaching practice. Participants were student teachers in their first or third year of full-time, 3-year courses at 1 of the 4 colleges of education in Hong Kong. A total of 424 student teachers completed a questionnaire…

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…

A study on the effects of increased field experiences on the perceptions and performance of 238 secondary school student teachers indicated that an increased number of required field experiences had little impact on student teachers' evaluations of their teaching ability or on supervising teachers' final evaluations of student teachers'…

Presents a story about an extension worker with the Ghana Ministry of Agriculture and discusses a short course in extension developed for the Ministry by the University of Ghana Agricultural Extension Department. Training focus was on active field practice to demonstrate class subjects and techniques. (MF)

A four-year teacher education program at Haskell Indian Nations University (Kansas) prepares American Indians and Alaska Natives to teach Native American children. In addition to the knowledge needed by all teachers, the program focuses on knowledge relevant to American Indians, such as foundations of Indian education, learning styles of Indian…