This study examined the differential effectiveness of three pathways to an elementary teaching credential across a large public university system. The study compared traditional campus-based, intern, and online credential programs across a 22-campus system using ratings of program preparation by 12,590 graduates after their first year of teaching…

Stories of veteran teachers have much to contribute to our understanding of how to approach the current problem of teacher attrition. We examined the stories of one teacher, Betty Peck, who had more than 50 years' experience teaching, with the goal to explore what dispositions she considered most important to her resilience as a teacher. We found…

The journey to cultural competence encompasses traveling an ever-expanding path increasing in size with the addition of each of five stages of development: conscientization, self-assessment, self-efficacy, agency, and, finally, critical consciousness as the unifying body within the educational enterprise. The increasing stages create a spiral…

This research shows how two teacher educators, one from Canada and one from the United States, have attempted to imbue their preservice and graduate education practices with a sense of social justice, despite the downgrading of the importance of social justice by accreditation agencies such as National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher…

This article chronicles the perspectives of two teacher candidates who displayed comfort with cultural issues and teaching for social justice, in contrast with many of their peers in the program who were uncomfortable with diversity. Their field experiences in a piloted urban reading practicum are documented, as part of a partnership with a…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how the experiences in a master's in literacy program are preparing teacher candidates to be school leaders and to examine candidates' self-perception as literacy leaders before, during, and after the program. Data sources include surveys, field notes, course syllabi, assignments, and rubrics.…

The shortage of certified science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers is of concern throughout the United States because of significant numbers needed over the next over the next 10 years. Addressing this issue in education, this study examined the experiences of three new STEM teachers who entered teaching through different…

This study investigated characteristics and attributes of the student teaching experience to better understand what makes a quality student teaching experience. This article reflects a holistic approach by addressing the overall context of a quality student teaching experience that includes the environment, characteristics of successful…

In light of the fact that policy makers are attempting to build accountability systems that will hold teachers, and the teacher education programs that prepared them, accountable for student achievement results, failure on the part of teacher educators to repeatedly and assertively advocate for a significant role in shaping the accountability…

This narrative case study describes the collaborative processes employed by a midwestern university as it designed and implemented a clinically based, postbaccalaureate teacher preparation program for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduates committed to teaching in high need secondary schools. The program development…

The complexity of disposition development for teacher candidates continues to be discussed and debated in teacher education. This study compares two programs and the different ways each approaches the disposition development of their respective candidates. More than 200 candidates from two institutions were surveyed on how and where they perceived…

Within the current accountability context of education in the United States and Canada, there is a clear need to educate teachers on effectively using assessments to support, measure, and communicate student learning. Despite this need, assessment has historically been a neglected area in teacher education programs with comparatively little…

This article reports on the findings of 25 associate teacher surveys and six associate teacher interviews collected between June 2008 and February 2009. The survey invited associate teachers to report on the preparedness of student teachers, including their strengths, weaknesses, and how well prepared they were for the realities of becoming a…

In this article, the author makes visible and works to interrupt the story of school as "protectorate." In examining, within this dominant narrative, educators' taken-for-granted assumptions about parents' positioning in relation to the landscape of school, the author presents research on parent engagement that provides those within the field of…

This three-part article addresses the role of identity as transmitted by my mother and the influences on my life first as a teacher and then as researcher. This ethnography is based on interviews of my mother about her life as a political prisoner in Cuba and her influences on my identity. This article is divided into three acts that address…