Pre-service teacher education programs have undergone strong criticism with regards to their effectiveness in preparing pre-service teacher candidates for the teaching profession. This qualitative case study explored the influence two different pre-service teacher education programs had on pre-service teacher candidates' perceptions of readiness…

The education of teachers in Canada typically consists of a sequence of non-integrated and partially alternating phases: pre-service university-based course work, pre-service school-based practica, job-imbedded induction, professional development sessions. This article proposes an integrative approach to the education of teachers that links these…

We examined the effectiveness of a professional development school model of teacher education in Canada. Teacher education candidates responded positively to program features related to sustained participation and collaboration in school communities throughout the year. Their efficacy beliefs about developing professional knowledge were most…

A survey of 23 Canadian student teachers in conventional placements or professional-development schools (PDS) found that their practica had taught them about curriculum, pupils and pupil-teacher interactions, discipline and classroom management, and the teaching profession. Compared to others, PDS student teachers relied more on weekly seminars…

Recent curricular reforms associated with teacher education practicums in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia are identified; and two different conceptions of teaching practice are discussed: teaching as an applied science and as reflective practice. The structural and political context of the practicum is also discussed. (IAH)

Reports on interviews with 12 veteran elementary school teachers involved in developing and maintaining a professional development school (PDS) in southern Ontario (Canada) during its first four years. The teachers thought that the PDS was successful and had promoted their professional development but had not affected their instructional…

This paper highlights some emerging trends in rethinking the teacher education practicum in North America. The paper discusses several major obstacles to student teacher learning that persist even in many of the new inquiry-oriented practicums that focus on the development of reflective teaching practice. While teachers praise the value of the…

An analysis of a number of university-school collaborative efforts in the United States and Canada to establish professional development schools, and of action research efforts in the United Kingdom, has shown that the partnership efforts studied devote significantly less attention to ideas about the nature of learning, teaching, schools, and…

A case study examined a whole-school model for supervising preservice teachers. The model employs constructivist notions that in a social-cultural context a persons' knowledge is created, examined, and transformed rather than simply transmitted and absorbed. The role of university facilitators changed from monitoring to mentoring, enhancing…