The purpose of this article is to explore how preservice elementary teachers (PSETs) interpreted their service-learning experiences within a pre-methods environmentally focused course and how their interpretations shaped their science teaching identities. Along a continuum of service-learning experiences were events that emphasized science…

The article documents the reflections on gathering data from the home country via distance while living and studying in New Zealand. These reflections strengthen the idea that data collection via distance could be a viable solution in circumstances where face-to-face data collection may not be an option. Three threads: negotiations, insider…

A critical incident is an unexpected event that occurs in the classroom. Teachers can uncover a new understanding of the teaching and learning process through reflecting on these critical incidents. This study explored the writing and discussion of critical incidents among six student teachers with their cooperating teachers in a practicum under…

The Conceptions about the teaching profession affect professional performance, and metaphors are a tool to identify them. In this qualitative study metaphors are used to gain insight into conceptions held by pre-service teachers, and their development during Initial Teacher Training in the Bachelor's Degree in Primary Education. A total of 247…

The purpose of this study was to measure the effects of a Choice-Based art curriculum with students in an ESL (English as a Second Language) kindergarten classroom. Of specific interest to the researcher there was a strong correlation between students using visual aids and communication skills to set their own art making goals. Through action…

This exploration of principal learning mechanisms (PLM) to support a learning-centered school aimed to develop, field-test, and validate a PLM-measuring instrument. Following exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of items to examine factorial validity, the developed scale was correlated with other work-related established constructs (e.g.,…

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine preservice and first-year music educators' perspectives on fieldwork activities embedded within a music teacher preparation program. One cohort of students was tracked for 2.5 years as they participated in an elementary teaching practicum, fulfilled the student teaching internship, and…

This qualitative study investigated factors that facilitate and hinder implementation of service learning for novice and veteran teachers. We conducted case studies of three novice teachers and three veteran teachers, using a cross-case analysis within and across groups. Confirming prior research, facilitating factors included teachers' knowledge…

This study examines preschoolers' beliefs concerning their transfer into primary education. Data from 1386 Finnish preschoolers were obtained using interviews with parents at the end of the children's preschool year. The qualitative content analysis revealed categories, which encompassed peer relationships, relationship with teacher, learning,…

This study focuses on the negotiation of environmental identity by 10 New Zealand students as they progressed from late primary school to junior secondary school. Interviews with these students and their parents focused on six theoretical perspective prominent in environmental education: significant life experiences, transformative learning,…

In order to prepare effective writing teachers, teacher educators need an understanding of how preservice preparation programs, inservice professional development, and the policies and practices of K-12 schools work together to influence teachers' writing instruction. This qualitative case study uses complexity theory (Davis & Sumara, 2006) to…

With the introduction of digital tools and online connectivity in primary schools, the shape of teaching and learning is shifting beyond the physical classroom. Drawing on the architecture of productive learning networks framework, we examine the affordances and limitations of an upper primary learning network and focus on how the digital and…

Many in the field of mathematics education call for elementary schools to have elementary mathematics specialists (EMSs) who provide needed mathematical expertise and support for children and teachers. EMSs serve as a reasonable, immediate alternative to the challenges generated by elementary teachers needing improved mathematical knowledge for…

This study sought to understand learning through the lifeworlds of preservice teachers who are in the last semester of their elementary education program at a Midwest University. The research was an explorative study into preservice teachers' understanding of how they learn, how they define learning, and how their own experiences as students will…

From 2007 to 2009, the United States experienced one of the greatest economic declines reported in the previous decades, known as the Great Recession (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012). While a great deal of media attention focused on the immediate financial effects of the recession, little discussion was made about the influence of this crisis…