This article reports findings from a study of five Canadian professional development schools (PDS) and analyzes strengths, weaknesses, and barriers to success from the perspectives of student teachers, associate (cooperating) teachers, and university faculty. School administrator support, communication between partners, and financial resources are…

Describes a cross-cultural course offered by the Faculty of Education at the University of Regina (Saskatchewan, Canada) to develop preservice teachers' understanding of aboriginal cultures, taking data from instructors' experiences and student narratives. The paper discusses the lack of understanding in white preservice teachers' views of self…

Examines why there are so few Native American teachers in this country, specifically in the upper Midwest. Describes how one institution has increased the number of native teachers and notes student reactions to assimilation at a traditional, largely white university. Proposes an eight-hour workshop on diversity training for faculty. (SM)

Addresses the need for greater understanding of the complex, contradictory nature of preservice teachers' life experiences as they interact with a multicultural, social reconstructionist teacher education course. The paper describes a study of the course and portrays two students' prior experiences that influenced their motivations to teach…

Describes the situational complexity of the "Coalition for Education That Is Multicultural," a teacher development group of continuous inquiry into practice by reflective practitioners interested in resistance and collective social action. Interviews with and observations of female members over six months provide information on vision, leadership,…

Presents data on the extent to which preservice and inservice teachers and preservice school counselors approached acceptance of the tenets reflected in the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education's statement endorsing multiculturalism, multilingualism, multidialectism, empowerment, equity, and cultural and individual uniqueness.…

Describes one professor's personal struggle and growth in facing the challenges and perplexities of planning and developing strategies to initiate the critical process of teaching multicultural concepts to teacher education students early in their education by providing them field experiences in urban schools. Student attitudes and attitude…

This paper describes how the University of Wisconsin-Parkside developed a multicultural emphasis in its teacher education program, noting that implementing such a focus in a school with predominantly white students and faculty members required a paradigm shift for both the program and the faculty. (SM)

Discusses the effect of inservice and preservice education emphasizing the educational needs of limited-English- proficient students, examining a study of the effects of English language proficiency on teachers' assessment of students' understanding. Results indicated that despite inservice education, teachers did not accommodate students' needs…

This study examined the effect of pre-student-teaching field experience in a multicultural setting on preservice teachers' cultural sensitivity. Preservice teachers took the Cultural Awareness Inventory before and after a field experience with minority students. Results indicated that the field experience had no impact on the subjects' in most…

Study examined how adolescents defined leisure and accessibility problems encountered as they attempted to pursue chosen activities. Interviews indicated that regardless of location, adolescents shared concern about inability to independently access leisure pursuits. Causes of frustration were lack of accessible spaces and social sanctions…

Examines the construction of community on a women's ice hockey team, using data from fieldwork and interviews with one Canadian team. Results indicated that the locker room provided a space where players came together as hockey players and women. A common focus on hockey united the diverse group. (SM)

Describes how teachers learned to use a graphics program in the context of Bloom's taxonomy. Instruction occurred in four stages (rote learning of tool use; understanding and application to individual assignments; application and analysis of graphic suitability with clip art; and a culminating group project requiring analysis, synthesis, and…

Reports a study that examined the attitudes, experiences, and skills of students entering a typical introductory college computing course. Survey data indicated that students had generally positive attitudes toward computers. Computer anxiety was greater among females. Most students viewed themselves as moderately competent with computers. (SM)

This study investigated whether 12 professional development school (PDS) teachers changed their perceptions of roles and responsibilities and adjusted their performances to meet this redefinition as a result of participation in an elementary school/university collaborative. Findings suggest that teachers created and maintained three roles:…