Compared student teachers' perceptions of three different junior field experiences offered at a state university. Surveys of students at the end of their junior field experiences indicated that all students believed the experiences were beneficial to their preparation for student teaching. Students in the two nontraditional experience programs…

A survey of 31 university personnel preparation programs for teachers of children with visual impairments, orientation and mobility specialists, and rehabilitation teachers found that 16 included a distance education component and used a wide variety of technology and instructional methods. Most programs also had a field experience component.…

Little is known about field placement experiences of growing subgroups of students, particularly older, part-time, and field employment-based. Because of the centrality of field placements within MSW education, these student subgroups in field placements at one northeastern school were surveyed (N=779). A MANOVA analysis examined students'…

The imminent teacher shortage in the United States has caused educators, policy makers, parents and concerned citizens to focus on teacher preparation not only at the university level, but also at the community college level. As a result, many community colleges are developing teacher education programs and focusing on real life classroom…

Cohorts and expanded field experiences are two structures intended to promote reflective thinking in preservice teacher education programs. In this paper, two science methods classes are compared. One class had expanded field experiences and was organized as a cohort. The second was a more traditionally structured class that was not in a cohort…

The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs and the Association for Specialists in Group Work standards of practice require programs to provide both experiential and didactic training in group leadership skills. This article discusses methods traditionally used to meet these standards and the practical and ethical…

Many researchers have addressed the professional development of teachers and the importance of the field experience component in the process of teaching effectiveness (Kowalchuk, 1999). A phased development model or paradigm used to address teachers' professional development and stages of effectiveness have been noted. Conceptual models of Field…

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…

This study was designed to describe effective ways to address cultural competency in the education of early childhood teachers in a graduate-level alternative preparation program. The study's 2 major questions were as follows: Can a 15-month graduate-level intensive alternative licensure program's coursework and field experiences provide students…

Sedentary living is a serious global public health problem that is associated with numerous preventable diseases. Schools are in a position to be the most cost-effective public resource to combat inactivity. In schools physical educators are positioned to be the strongest advocates of a healthy, active lifestyle. To effectively promote physical…

Background: Although preservice teachers bring well-established views of teaching to their teacher education programs, Tabachnick and Zeichner (1984) claimed that it is possible to amend preservice teachers' views. They portrayed the learning of teachers as a negotiated and interactive process rather than as one that is predetermined by teachers'…

This study frames the quality transition of Romanian business education embracing the role of students as clients and customers. In the first part of the study, responses from ninety-four fourth-year Romanian students provided a statistically significant gap between the level of importance of business competences and their level of preparation.…

This book is a hands-on field manual for elementary school teachers. It features a range of activities that offer opportunities for reflection while enhancing student field experiences, through observation and practicum. The first section of the book provides activities that focus on collecting information about the school and its resources, and…

Field experience is a core element in an initial or preservice teacher education programme. It allows students to enact and reflect on their developing philosophies of teaching and is the "testing ground" for theory/practice links. Educational theorists and programme planners in distance delivered teacher education programmes acknowledge the…

Alternative teacher certification (ATC) programs offer one method to help alleviate teacher shortages. While much debate has arisen over ATC programs, very few have empirically examined their impact on the teaching pool. The present study was designed to explore differences by certification type and program characteristics based on novice…