This paper discusses the experiences of beginning teachers as they navigated their first seven years in the profession. Drawing on data from a research study that charted these teachers' experiences during and after their initial teacher education program, I reveal that although the participants' teaching contexts varied considerably,…

Teacher education is critical to the development of Aboriginal teachers able to ensure success among Aboriginal learners and contribute to the preservation and renewal of Aboriginal communities. In a series of talking circles, six beginning Aboriginal teachers discussed their teacher preparation and their first years of practice. They expressed…

This study explores teacher candidates' understandings of children with special needs and learning disabilities; the effect of a special education course supporting a tutoring practicum; and how curricula can critically deconstruct and disrupt dominant, inequitable notions and practices. Data were collected through initial and end-of-course…

The prevailing conception and practice of education perpetuates a civilization saturated with a deep sense of ontological disconnect and axiological crisis in all dimensions of human life. We examine the disconnect from body, senses, and world in the practice of education. We explore the possibilities in the burgeoning contemplative education…

Misrepresentation, appropriation, and denigrating Indigenous knowledge is still common practice in educational institutions despite efforts of critical educators to challenge these practices. One such challenge was to papier mache totem poles in an education institution's library in a faculty of education that houses teacher education programs. A…

A 2003 study about the lives of retired leaders in teacher education reminds us of the significant role that others play in the academic development of professors of education. That study also reveals significant changes in the nature of our work as teacher educators. The authors stress the need for universities to pay greater attention to the…

In Zimbabwe the need to incorporate indigenous knowledge in science education to reflect local cultural settings cannot be overemphasized. Current policies on science are situated in Western cultural definitions, thus marginalizing indigenous knowledge, which is misconceived as irrational and illogical. This study used qualitative research…

Using focus groups and individual interviews, student teachers' perspectives on their program's design and delivery were examined. Data analysis using constant comparison revealed a set of 10 essential elements for effective teacher education programs: diverse student bodies, effective program faculty, useful curricula and pedagogy, theory into…

A 3-year study will examine conflict in professional field education. Stage 1 will collect narratives about critical incidents from student-field instructor-faculty member triads in the fields of education, medicine, nursing, and social work. Stage 2 will focus on analysis of narratives. Stage 3 will include multidisciplinary conversations among…

The author's doctoral dissertation started out as qualitative research--interviews with beginning women teachers exploring the transition from teacher education into the classroom. She explains why the material could be better conveyed in the form of the bildungsroman, a German term for a novel of formation or education. Chapter five of the…

A balance must be maintained between what students want and what they should receive in educational institutions. If teachers forget that they possess more knowledge of teaching than the lay public, especially politicians, or downplay their own importance in education, they abrogate their professionalism and weaken their ability to contend with…

A retrospective study examined how authority to confer Bachelor of Education degrees was extended to private colleges in Alberta in 1995. Sources of the policy change included local political pressures and international pressures for neoliberalization of public policy. Opposition from professional educators and other stakeholders has implications…

Interviews with 12 teacher educators at a Canadian university explored the characteristics and roles of educational leaders in general and what constituted educational leadership at the school level. These faculty generally held traditional views of educational leadership. Implications for teacher education and faculty development are discussed.…

Explores the experiences of 17 Canadian seconded teachers--school teachers who act as university teacher-educators for a few years. Identifies seven phases of secondment and five central themes related to university and school cultures, reflective practice, seconded teachers' commitment to teaching and professional identities, and secondment as…

Seven Canadian female faculty members described their involvement in collaborative projects, including collaborations with a school principal, school teachers, a former student, a graduate student, and other faculty. Common themes included building rapport, establishing goals and rewards, negotiation of tasks, commitment and interpersonal support,…