This study examined 158 lesson plans at one institution across two teacher education programs, inclusive early childhood and elementary education, to determine the impact of Internet usage as inspiration on preservice teachers' lesson plans. Fisher's exact test determined statistically significant differences between the Internet use of preservice…

Pre-service elementary social studies teachers in the south eastern United States participated in a mixed methods study to determine the degree to which they utilized critical thinking skills. Insight Assessments administered analysis of their reflections, critical thinking skills, and dispositions test. The researchers developed a post survey for…

This paper assesses the relationship between participation in two tertiary science courses and the science teaching efficacy beliefs (STEBs) of one cohort of preservice elementary teachers over a four-year period. Two Type II case studies were conducted within the courses. Data were collected through 26 administrations of the Science Teaching…

The purpose of this research is to determine the classroom teachers' sense of efficacy about the drama in education, to examine them in terms of various variables and to reveal their opinions and metaphorical perceptions regarding the concept of drama in education. Convergent parallel design, which is of the mixed method designs, was used in the…

This mixed-methods research compared job satisfaction among counselors working in pre-schools and primary-schools. Its quantitative phase included 223 counselors, 70 of whom also participated in the qualitative phase. A demographic information form, job-satisfaction scale and a semi-structured interview protocol were used to collect data.…

Novice special education teachers have become an integral part of the public and private school systems throughout Pennsylvania. This mixed-methods research study explored the expertise and preparedness of current novice special education teachers. A combination of an electronic survey questionnaire and phone and face-to-face interviews were…

For over a century, teacher preparation programs (TPPs) have experienced peaks and valleys in preparing preservice teachers to deliver technology and engineering (TE) experiences in elementary classrooms. Calls to integrate engineering concepts into elementary education (Katehi, Pearson, & Feder, 2009; Kimmel, Carpinelli, Curr-Alexander, &…

We explore development of elementary preservice teachers' reflective practices as they solved problems encountered while teaching in a reading clinic. Written reflections (N = 175) were collected across 8 weeks from 23 preservice teachers and analyzed to investigate relationships among problem exploration, teaching adaptations, and problem…

This study presents an 'education for sustainability' curricular model which promotes science learning in an elementary classroom through equity pedagogy. A total of 25 fourth-grade students from an urban, public school in Denver, Colorado participated in this mixed-methods study where concept maps were used as a tool for describing and assessing…

This article reports on an exploratory study that addressed the low confidence levels of 80 generalist primary student teachers enrolled in a mandatory visual arts course. Previous studies in this area have found that a cycle of neglect exists in Australia, as a result of educators' lack of confidence in their ability to teach visual arts. This is…

This study seeks to identify the obstacles and opportunities involved in setting up a bilingual education system and to identify the challenges and benefits associated with the daily experience of maintaining a bilingual education model. This study discusses the benefits of developing a bilingual education program and what these programs can offer…

Today, in Finland, the majority of hearing-impaired pupils attend regular schools. This is in line with inclusive policy. This study aims to investigate do these pupils receive support from teachers, what kind of support is given and how is inclusion functioning. A questionnaire was used with 109 Finnish teachers, with both closed- and open-ended…

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 documented in detail teachers' voices about their working conditions, professional development needs and opportunities to cater to these needs. The study reported in this paper was conducted as part of a large-scale study that used mixed methods to assess teachers' professional development needs. The qualitative data reported in this…

Over the past 20 years there have been numerous calls in Australia and beyond for extensive educational reforms to preservice teacher education in the sciences. Recommendations for science teacher education programs to integrate curriculum, instruction and assessment are at the forefront of such reforms. In this paper, we describe our scholarly…