Visions of teacher professionalism may shape common conceptualizations of high-quality mentoring, sometimes distortedly. Nevertheless, this relationship is often unnoticed, and studies rarely analyze mentor--teachers' work according to their interrelating visions. This multiple case study aimed at this literature gap. It examined the goals that…

This article reports on the results of a research project in which 18 teacher educators in three countries-Australia, The Netherlands, and United Kingdom-were interviewed about their experiences of working in the so-called "third space" between schools and universities, particularly in relation to the practicum, or field supervision.…

Many school-improvement efforts include time for teacher collaboration, with the assumption that teachers' collective work supports instructional improvement. However, not all collaboration equally supports learning that would support improvement. As a part of a 5-year study in two urban school districts, we collected video records of more than…

The purpose of this case study was to examine a beginning elementary teacher's development of identity for science teaching from her first year at university, her field experience, and through her first year of teaching. Several kinds of data were collected over a period of 5 years through different sources: interviews, journal entries,…

Training teachers in collegiality during the teacher education program, an approach to counter teacher isolation, is described. Such programs should accommodate and encourage dialogue among prospective teachers. One example of how teacher educators are striving to foster such collegial relationships is given. (Author/CB)

This narrative inquiry weaves Schwab's commonplaces of curriculum and Clandinin, Pushor, and Murray Orr's narrative commonplaces through stories of conflict between a professional developer and 30 high school lead teachers. In her role as manager of a mathematics leadership institute situated between two urban public school districts and a…

This discussion of the Holmes Group Report ("Tomorrow's Teachers") argues that, because most education professionals support the basic tenets of the report, it is in the field's best interests to become part of the group attempting effective educational reform instead of individually attempting to fight off the attacks of…

Two major themes permeate this examination of problems facing the teaching profession today: (1) unrestrained criticism of the teacher education process will result in the destruction of teaching as a profession; and (2) despite the drawbacks, teaching professionals have the desire and power to overcome problems through hard work and cooperation.…

Forty secondary school teachers were asked about their attitudes toward student teachers. The cooperating teachers' responses about why and how often they accepted student teachers, whether they regarded student teachers as peers, and what characteristics they valued most in student teachers are summarized. Their advice to student teachers is…

Analysis of the extent to which 24 working conditions influenced the self-perceived reality shock of 211 beginning teachers revealed that the subjects' reality ratings were more positive than their expectation ratings in only two areas: help from other teachers and administrator observations. Teachers generally reported different sources of…

Shared experiences between teachers meeting regularly in small groups help them to recognize, value, and utilize their own skills and experiences in professional growth and problem-solving. (JD)

Reports case studies of 10 partnerships in middle school level professional development schools that either moved apart or reconfigured their relationships over time. Written materials from, interviews with, and observations of partners indicated that though most succeeded, they needed better communication between partners to maximize their…

Discusses events leading to the Texas legislation limiting professional education courses to 18 semester hours for initial certification and eliminating undergraduate education degrees. Noting implications for other states, the article suggests that teacher educators collaborate to develop a knowledge base, create coalitions, and provide national…

Because the growth of health and social service professionals in schools has implications for schools, teachers, and teacher education, coordination and collaboration among these professions should be improved. Modifications which reflect the need for knowledge and understanding of human services that affect at-risk students are needed in teacher…