This study explored the perceptions of preservice teacher candidates who participated in a pilot partnership between a public teacher education preparation program and Junior Achievement (JA). The partnership was grounded in the premise that providing early field experiences to preservice teacher candidates was a necessary requirement of quality…

This is a case study about how teacher education might better prepare rural teacher candidates for rural schools. Parents, teachers, community members, and students associated with a rural school described what is important in the preparation of teachers for today's rural schools. Their goals and wishes for their children's school and…

This promising practice explores the use of young adult literature as a supplement to texts in an undergraduate introduction to a special education course. Literature portraying adolescent characters with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were used to build schema of preservice teachers. Participants' knowledge and attitudes about ASD were…

The need to prepare literacy teachers to integrate new literacies into their teaching practices is becoming increasingly urgent. This is because the advent of the computer is fundamentally changing the notion of literacy and also profoundly shifting literacy instruction and the way students learn. The research objective of this study was,…

The National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES, 2010) continues to report substantial underachievement of diverse student populations in the nation's schools. After decades of focus on diversity and multicultural education, with integrating field and clinical practice, candidates continue to graduate without adequate knowledge, skills and…

Practicum experiences in schools are highly valued in science teacher education programs. Yet, there are few studies examining secondary preservice science teachers' practicum classrooms. This mixed-methods study explored secondary preservice science teachers' perceptions of their practicum classroom learning environments, interpreted from an…

In this article, we compared teacher attitudes and beliefs about culturally appropriate language teaching resulting from an examination of two groups of preservice teachers. One group of preservice teachers enrolled in an English as a Second Language (ESL) study abroad program in Mexico; the other enrolled in a traditional on-campus ESL program.…

Teacher preparation programs are required by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) to assess the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of teacher candidates. Dispositions and the personal values that support them are defined differently by NCATE and other experts in the fields of education and business. In order to…

This article examines preservice teachers' conceptions of classroom management and organization in light of their training and beliefs about good teaching. Students in their final year of a 5-year program discussed their definitions and conceptions of classroom management, organization, and rule systems through an open-ended questionnaire.…

Teacher education is challenged with preparing teachers to work effectively with culturally diverse students. Gaps in the research literature demonstrate that more bridging is needed between teacher education coursework and student teaching experiences, particularly in terms of supervision approaches that consider multicultural issues. This study…

In this study, eleven K-8 mathematics urban interns' perceptions of their mentoring support systems and factors that influenced their ability to teach mathematics were examined. Semi-structured interviews revealed that district and grade-level campus mentors provided the greatest amount of mathematics instruction and pedagogically based support to…

This study included four preservice interns at a Midwestern university in the United States who were learning to facilitate interactive discussions in English language arts. The authors investigated how the interns' perceptions of their self-selected audience influenced what they noticed, talked about, and learned as they constructed a video case…

This research is an examination of the interactions between 19 pairs of student teachers and cooperating teachers engaged in guided reading instruction in Grades 1 through 3. As the basis for the study, the authors analyzed interaction patterns through conducting content analysis (Van Sluys, Lewison, & Seely Flint, 2006) and discourse analysis…

This study reports on the experiences of supervisors in a university teacher preparation program regarding their critical reflection on their practice. This has an impact on the learning opportunities available for their student teachers. Findings include: (a) an understanding of critical reflection is something that builds over time for student…

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of active learning on preservice teachers' dignity, energy, self-management, community, and awareness (DESCA) abilities, attitudes toward teaching, and attitudes toward science. Third year preservice teachers (n = 77) from two different classes were involved in the study. One intact…