Describes an undergraduate course, "Women and Multiculturals: The Educational Dilemma," which explores evidence that education has not consistently provided women and multiculturals access to full participation in society. The course teaches students to appreciate diversity; understand issues of race, class, and gender in education; and decide how…

Describes an Australian undergraduate teacher education program, "Issues in Cross Cultural Education." Designed to respond to the demands of Australia as a pluralist, multicultural society, it examines the ways in which the racial and ethnic minority presence has shaped and transformed the minority culture. (SM)

Describes how one university developed the role of foundations of education in the teacher education program. The National Endowment for the Humanities funded intensive faculty development and collaboration between education and liberal arts faculty. The seminars and curriculum development were catalysts for interdisciplinary curriculum…

Two university educators use reflective dialogue to discuss processes they went through in understanding the political nature and assumptions of their own pedagogical practices as they searched for methods which would promote teacher empowerment and actively involve students in shaping course curriculum for a language arts class they team taught.…

Discusses cultural diversity from the point of view of Pat Griffin, a lesbian feminist and associate professor of physical education. To her, cultural diversity includes religion, race, gender, physical and mental ability, class, and sexual orientation. She emphasizes the latter because it is often ignored in the school environment. (SM)

Teacher educator discusses challenges in preparing teachers for diverse student populations. She remembers being the only African American in one seventh grade class. It was the only public school experience in which she forgot her differences because the teacher taught to benefit all students, forever influencing her educational beliefs. (SM)

Presents profiles of two instructors of elementary art methods courses for preservice elementary teachers, offering two possible scenarios in which they might find themselves. One scenario presents contradictory realities and contexts, while the other scenario discusses celebration of the artistry within teaching. (SM)

Describes the development and implementation of "The Curriculum and Pedagogy of Teacher Education," a doctoral course that used case studies to facilitate teacher learning opportunities at all levels. Students examined a set of oral cases, wrote their own cases, and discussed articles exploring subject matter, method, theory, and practice. (SM)

Presents stories from a student and a teacher regarding efforts to have university-level pedagogy encourage students to identify and pursue personally relevant educational topics. Information comes from a teacher education course organized around individual focus projects designed to promote action research. Highlights of the student's journal are…

Canadian preservice teachers were sent to volunteer in an inner-city Native American elementary school in order to gain some understanding of other cultures and thus examine their own attitudes toward race and culture. The program helped students understand the role of communication in communities and in teaching. (SM)

Describes the articles in a special issue of Teacher Education prepared in collaboration with the National Center for Science Teaching and Learning. The issue articulates important visions of science curriculum teaching which incorporate both the sociological critique of scientific knowledge and the constructivist view of learning. (SM)

Examines the relationship between new biology teachers' subject matter knowledge and classroom discourse, contrasting classroom discourse during laboratory investigation with discourse during other classroom activities. Data analysis suggests that knowledge and control are related but in ways unique to the communicative context of the laboratory.…

Through a review of the literature, looks at instructional and curricular issues related to the student-as-scientist model and the critical nature of the teacher's role in expanding school science activities to include this model. (SM)

Explores the interrelationship between a conception of science teaching and the nature of a knowledge base for science teachers, outlining a history of curricular efforts in medical education. The article proposes a generative conception of science teaching and develops the role of three associated knowledge bases. (SM)

Examines changes in elementary science teachers' education, noting the fragmented status of school science. Few elementary teachers have strong academic backgrounds in science or fundamental knowledge of elementary science program content. Understanding preservice teachers' alternative conceptions and misconceptions about the nature of science is…