Inclusive education is increasingly common in K-12 schools, yet teacher preparation for inclusive education has been lagging. In the present study, interviews of teacher candidates, mentor teachers, university faculty, and fieldwork supervisors were completed to determine experiences of, and preparation for, inclusive education. Results indicate…

Spark NH is New Hampshire's governor-appointed Early Childhood Advisory Council (hereafter called "Council"), a private-public partnership that works to create a comprehensive, coordinated system of programs and supports for young children and their families. Workforce development is an essential Council strategy for improving early…

The Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE) at the University of California, Berkeley, is assisting the New Jersey Council for Young Children (Council) in collecting and analyzing information about the state's early learning professional preparation and development system. The project consists of two phases: a Mapping Phase and a…

Key features of an intensive one-semester clinical program for preservice teachers are: (1) concurrent methods courses and fieldwork (student teaching); (2) dual roles (instructor and fieldwork supervisor) for core faculty; (3) teaming of core faculty; (4) peer group support--because students are placed in clusters of 3-10 at a school. (IAH)

Because of the critical role that student teaching plays in teacher education programs, cooperating teachers should be adequately prepared to provide the best possible models for their student teachers. An effective cooperating teacher training program is research based, integrates theory with practical application, and provides cooperating…

The Comprehensive Teacher Education Institute (CTEI) is a collaborative venture between the University of California (Riverside) and the Jurupa Unified School District whose goal is to improve the education of prospective teachers and increase the professional knowledge and personal esteem of experienced practitioners. In an effort to enhance the…

An effective junior-year student teaching program in elementary education was designed that combines application of theory learned in methods courses with practical school experience. The objective was to prepare education majors for student teaching and to give them an opportunity to evaluate themselves and the prospects of a teaching career.…

The intent of the study discussed in this paper was to document and describe discrepancies between the content of university course work and practices observed in the schools and to examine the thinking and decision making of preservice teachers faced with dilemmas created by the discrepancies. Two fifth year programs that integrated course work…

In response to evidence of inadequately trained secondary school English teachers, this report details an experimental education course for the preservice training of English/Secondary Education majors at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. The first section looks at the impetus for such a pre-practice course, and notes that previous…

This paper explores the use of ethnographic biography as a source of information and reflection for student teachers. Ethnographic methods combine observation of a subject's teaching environment or context, examining the present rather than the past. Information can then be made available to student teachers in need of a personal viewpoint on…