This paper proposes a framework for the development of culturally responsive practices in beginning teachers to meet the needs of diverse students in multicultural classrooms. The framework describes the trajectory beginning teachers undergo toward becoming culturally responsive and discusses how teacher educators in liberal arts colleges can…

This paper traces the development of teacher candidate benchmarks at one liberal arts institution. Begun as a classroom assessment activity over ten years ago, the benchmarks, through collaboration with professional development school partners, now serve as a primary measure of teacher candidates' performance in the final phases of the…

Researchers and teacher educators have given increased attention to co-teaching during the student teaching experience. Co-teaching facilitates an apprenticeship arrangement that encourages modeling of classroom practice for the candidate and a chance to implement directly what is being learned by the apprentice. The co-teaching model can be…

Informed by the narrative inquiry approach (Connelly & Clandinin, 1990), this qualitative study examined preservice teachers' narratives to investigate what they think, know, and believe in teaching English learners. Beyond just telling stories, narrative structures and meanings were examined with the goal of gaining insight of the preservice…

Although strong arguments espousing the accolades of arts involvement are evident, the visual and performing arts continue to be underfunded and underused in K-12 schooling and teacher preparation. Valiant efforts from arts advocates have made inroads to reverse this negative trend, yet policies and practices that reflect a commitment to "arts for…

For the past sixteen years, the Five Dimensions of Multicultural Education, as proposed by James A. Banks (1995), have been accepted in many circles as the primary conceptual framework used in teaching multicultural education courses: content integration, the knowledge construction process, prejudice reduction, an equity pedagogy and an empowering…

Despite greater responsibility for creating equitable and inclusive classroom models, some research suggests that educators "may not have the necessary attitudes, dispositions, or perhaps more important, the professional skills to successfully instruct students in diverse, inclusive classrooms" (Van Laarhoven, Munk, Lynch, Bosman & Rouse, 2007, p.…

In a "Multicultural Teaching and Learning" course, racial equity is one of the many issues explored. When discussing racial equity in our schools, teacher education students in the course focus their attention on such issues as the achievement gap, referrals to special education of African American and Latino males, the racism of low expectations.…

Although many researchers have focused their efforts on studying first-year teachers, little research has been conducted about experienced new teachers, educators who have teaching experience but are new to a school or school system. This qualitative study of the experiences of three experienced new teachers reveals that many experienced new…

Teachers, and those who prepare them, struggle to balance test-centered legislative mandates and conscientious professional practices. Increasingly, professional judgment may be at variance with federal testing guidelines. Present federal testing requirements, if strictly followed, will retain a significant number of students in grade resulting in…

Research, reports and studies all confirm the fact that American schools are facing a crisis: not enough teachers to fill positions in schools. One critical component of this crisis is the fact that many newer teachers to the profession quit after only one or two years. A common factor for many of those new teachers who quit is the lack of…

What defines a strong connection between university and school-based experiences for a small teacher education program? This paper explores the creation of "intentional partnerships," which involves the systematic crossing of multiple voices (preservice, mentor, university professor, principal, supervisor) to build mutual understandings across…