To support pupils' learning, teachers must understand what and how their pupils have learned, and teacher education should teach candidates how to do this. This article reports on survey data (n = 270) from three programmes and observation data (N = 104 h) from six programmes, located in Norway, Finland and the US. It examines the candidates'…

This study focused on a partial replication of a mixed-methods study of teachers regarding certification practices in Gifted and Talented Education (GATE). Data sources included Likert survey questions as well as openended questions with current teachers at seven schools within a Southern California school district. Since completion of the…

The growth of teachers' professional knowledge and skills has been the topic of policy, research, and even philosophy for many decades. The assessment of English Learners (ELs), a more specific concern, has become an interest of the educational community in just the past 40 years (e.g., Harris, 1969). The authors' task in this chapter is to…

Across the nation, nearly all teachers can expect to have EL students in their classrooms. The challenges of teaching ELs students are particularly acute in the nation's secondary schools. There is evidence to suggest that the lack of preparation to teach ELs is generally weak, but even more so for secondary teachers. We analyze data from a survey…

Developing teaching practices that meet the needs of Second Language Learners (SLL) calls for models of apprenticeship in which teacher candidates acquire competency on how to create learning spaces where students discover, experience and construct knowledge rather than solely practicing skills. The aforesaid argument has an implication when…

In this paper I reviewed and analyzed three important constructs--beliefs, knowledge, and practices in mathematics teacher education. I carried out a literature review of teacher beliefs and practice, and beliefs and change in mathematics education in to order draw some pedagogical and research implications. I was able to draw three themes from…

This article argues that economic exclusion, standardized testing, and racially biased definitions of teacher quality continue the exclusion of teachers of color from the urban teaching force. The authors highlight two urban programs designed to address such barriers and situate such efforts within a critical race theory framework that identifies…

The purpose of this study was to develop guidelines for a new high school chemistry and physics teacher training program. Eleven participants were interviewed who attended daylong workshops, every other Saturday, for 10 months. The instructors used Modeling Instruction pedagogy and curriculum. All the instructors had high school teaching…

Populations of minority students the United States have increased steadily over the past few decades to 42 percent of public school enrollment (Echevarria, 2011). English language learners (ELLs) are the fastest growing population of students enrolled in public schools across the United States. Nationally, if an ELL speaks English with difficulty,…

This paper considers a set of research and assessment strategies used to evaluate programme outcomes in the Stanford Teacher Education Programme (STEP) during a period of programme redesign over 10 years. These strategies include surveys and interviews of students' perceptions of programme elements and their own preparedness, observations of their…

This study is based on data collected during 6 years (12 semesters) in the secondary science methods courses at an urban university in Southern California. The secondary science credential candidates were teaching on emergency permits or internship credentials in local urban secondary schools. They taught science during the day and pursued their…

This article examines the relationship between the mathematical knowledge of 438 K-8 California teachers and the demographics of the schools in which they work. To measure mathematical knowledge, we used a series of multiple-choice problems meant to represent both the content teachers teach and the specialized knowledge of mathematics that…

In recent years, growing knowledge of the critical importance of early childhood development for lifelong learning and growth had led to increased calls for the professionalism of early childhood educators, including higher standards for their training and education. As part of this attention to professional development, many states are…

The newly developed "Learning To Teach System" for the preparation of teachers in California and the accompanying standards (referred to as the "2042 Standards" since they were derived from Senate Bill 2042 (SB 2042) passed by the California Legislature in 1998) have changed the way some California educators perceive the…

This article addresses how teacher preparation programs can best respond to the broad, complex calls for reform in ways that are locally meaningful and honor academic integrity, but that are also true to the intent of the reform mandates. The authors begin with an overview of some of the federal and state initiatives that are presenting challenges…