For decades, university supervisors of preservice teachers (PSTs) have been undervalued and ignored. Following neoliberal reforms, post-secondary institutions have outsourced PST supervision to contingent faculty, failed to provide professional development for supervisors, offered poor employment conditions, and overlooked PST supervision in…

The similarity of teaching assignments between mentor and novice teachers are typically regarded as necessary prerequisites for successful mentoring relationships. Yet, due to the personnel shortages and specialized teaching assignments in special education, it is not always possible to match novice special educators with veteran special…

Suburban middle schools have been affected by a growing enrollment of English language learners and by the need to demonstrate that this population of students is meeting prescribed academic proficiency benchmarks. These developments necessitate cogent, English learner--focused professional learning across content areas. Using Gee's perspective on…

Through course readings, museum visits, focus group discussions, and reflections on clinical observation experiences, preservice teachers developed a fictitious educational setting (Courage High School) that incorporates critical, social justice practices and privileges the experiences and cultural backgrounds of all K-12 students. Participants…

The public education system in the United States continues to struggle in educating children of diverse backgrounds. Many have addressed this issue by documenting how certain practices teach children particular types of knowledge and skills. This developmental focus on what should be happening to children of diverse backgrounds tends to ignore the…

Professional development that scaffolds and supports supervisors is critical for quality field experiences and is our responsibility as teacher educators. The literature supports this statement and two ideas that conceptually frame our work: (1) quality field experiences are a critical component of preservice programs and (2) training and support…

This study investigates new teachers' challenges in implementing the secondary mathematics and English Common Core State Standards (CCSS) using a survey approach that addressed 17 secondary mathematics and English teachers' understanding and implementation of the CCSS and their needs for collaboration with peers in a positive learning community.…

Professional development programs are critical in addressing the needs of teacher education students and graduates. In an effort to best meet the desired needs and wants of these new educators, professional development opportunities must target essential issues. This study examines topics including classroom management, exceptional children,…

This article compares the experiences of two elementary teachers, each of whom attended a traditional workshop on the development of conclusions within science notebooks. One teacher continued to expand her learning on this topic by participating in a lesson study group; the other did not. Through a qualitative case study, I explored the impact on…

The complexity of disposition development for teacher candidates continues to be discussed and debated in teacher education. This study compares two programs and the different ways each approaches the disposition development of their respective candidates. More than 200 candidates from two institutions were surveyed on how and where they perceived…

This article argues that leadership knowledge should be included in teacher education curricula. The authors discuss the political realities that affect teachers and how these realities are best met with teacher leadership knowledge. Failure to include ideas of educational leadership in teacher education denies teachers an understanding of the…

Case studies about issues arising from education policy were written between 2003 and 2011 by doctoral candidates in Curriculum and Instruction who were career K-12 educators. Literary analysis was employed in grouping 57 case studies, which described primarily situations that occurred in school districts in one large metropolitan area, by topic…

The purpose of this article is to describe commonalities among teachers who have sustained passion for the teaching profession, identify ways to instill a similar passion in teacher education candidates, and encourage teacher educators to maintain and model an enthusiastic passion. The authors present the results of a study that consisted of…

Students entering school from economically disadvantaged homes may have difficulty developing early literacy skills, leading to subsequent reading difficulties and poor academic performance. It is not sufficient for at-risk children to make progress; their achievement has to be accelerated, given that their middle-class peers are also making…

Given the increasing pressures of high-stakes accountability associated with state mandates and No Child Left Behind (U.S. Department of Education, 2002), linking teacher preparation within professional development schools to the goal of school improvement has become essential. This article illustrates the University of Florida's efforts to…