Study of teachers' professional knowledge and development examined seven new instructors at a Canadian community college. The paper discusses a range of levels at which teachers' professional knowledge can be discerned, emphasizing the importance of listening to teachers' voices without limiting that listening to personal, practical, or…

A two-year study of teachers' attitudes about professional voice involved discussions among groups of colleagues about professional issues, addressing three areas of concern about dialogue: teacher interest, administrative support from the teacher's perspective, and constraints. The paper examines the importance of personal narratives to encourage…

Discusses how teachers' and students' personal stories are central to teacher education and to the improvement of schools. The article illustrates how the telling and writing, retelling and rewriting of teachers' and students' stories leads to awakenings and transformations resulting in changes in teaching practices. (SM)

Presents the story of how Charlotte Bronte and her sister, Emily, experienced their own education and how Charlotte pursued education as a career because of duty, need, and fate. The article suggests that Charlotte was a woman of extraordinary genius and noble virtue, though she was actually a reluctant teacher. (SM)

A study examined individual participants in a minority teacher recruitment project (minority instructional aides and high school students), focusing on their needs and the effectiveness of specific retention elements. Surveys and interviews indicated that such teacher recruitment projects can help reverse the trend of decreasing minority…

Reports a study of on-the-job special education trainees' perceptions regarding job satisfactions and challenges, congruence between expectations and reality of working conditions, and predicted commitment to special education. Results indicated 48 percent would eventually leave special education. (SM)

Schools may not be the best sites for early field experiences of preservice teachers just beginning to work with culturally different children. The paper examines factors limiting public schools' potential as sites, describes an alternative nonschool setting, and analyzes conditions that make the setting better for developing culturally responsive…

Efforts must be made from inside the teacher education classroom to retain minority students and increase their success in completing credential programs. After explaining why there is a shortage of minority teacher education students, the paper presents five essential skills for preparing and retaining minority teacher candidates. (SM)

Recruitment of high school students is an easy way to increase the number and quality of African-American students preparing to teach. The article describes a program that provides a four-year college preparatory experience within a Washington, DC high school for students interested in teaching careers. (SM)

Researchers investigated how prepared recent California State University teacher education graduates felt to teach limited English proficient (LEP) students. Results indicated subjects believed they had inadequate preparation in methods and adapting instruction in content areas. They felt they lacked opportunities to teach LEP students under the…

Researchers evaluated the effectiveness of experiential, cross-cultural learning activities for students wishing to become teachers. Surveys of students who either plunged into different cultures or completed educational biosketches of their educational upbringing indicated both techniques were effective in raising consciousness about the state of…

Many students with behavior disorders have difficulty functioning in regular classrooms and pose persistent problems for classroom teachers. Classroom teachers are often reluctant or unable to deal with disruptive behavior. Research highlights the importance of considering classroom variables such as teacher attitudes and classroom environment in…

Study examined teacher educators' views of the ideal and real practicability of the new NCATE standards as guidelines for excellence in teacher preparation. Surveys of 397 teacher educators indicated they recognized the quality that NCATE standards would offer their programs and realized many of their programs did not meet NCATE standards. (SM)

Student teachers completing urban field experiences were trained in reflective thinking. Comparisons with students who did not receive the training indicated that field experiences with opportunities to reflect on practice increased the likelihood that students could recognize and process more of the complexity marking teaching and learning,…

Describes the struggle one teacher educator shared with three friends who joined her in studying the teacher and researcher roles of someone becoming a teacher educator. The intense self-study examined tensions, issues, and dilemmas that emerged as these teachers interacted with others in the context of academia. (SM)