To provide health education majors with high quality internships, a study was done to evaluate the internship experience in community health education. Results indicate that economic factors, such as the cost to the student, inhibit high-quality fieldwork experiences. Alternative methods of enriching the curriculum need to be developed in light of…

A practicum course for prospective teachers of the gifted was designed, implemented, and evaluated. The 209 teachers found the practicum teaching, observations of their teaching, and papers they wrote to be effective learning experiences. Observers' ratings of the teachers indicated that a majority performed well in the practicum. (Author/JDD)

This study was designed to describe effective ways to address cultural competency in the education of early childhood teachers in a graduate-level alternative preparation program. The study's 2 major questions were as follows: Can a 15-month graduate-level intensive alternative licensure program's coursework and field experiences provide students…

Alternative teacher certification (ATC) programs offer one method to help alleviate teacher shortages. While much debate has arisen over ATC programs, very few have empirically examined their impact on the teaching pool. The present study was designed to explore differences by certification type and program characteristics based on novice…

In response to shortages of science and mathematics teachers in the U.S., many states have promoted alternative routes to certification in which individuals with non-education undergraduate degrees can become certificated in shorter timeframes than in traditional programs. One consideration in designing alternative programs is how to arrange…

The British Isles Field Experience (BIFE) program was initiated at Williamsport Area Community College (WACC) to provide a group of WACC faculty and staff members with individual and group activities of a personal, professional, and cultural nature in order to promote an international perspective that can be infused into student, collegiate, and…

Critics of Early Field Experience (EFE) for preservice teachers have cited a need for shifting focus away from logistical questions (e.g., quantity of time spent in the field, legal questions, administrative schedules) and toward promoting a critically meaningful educational experience for preservice teachers. This paper describes an EFE at…

Describes a study designed to identify the types and quantity of early clinical experiences available to elementary education majors. Findings indicate that 55 of the 174 institutions surveyed have revised their early clinical experiences within the past 5 years. (IAH)

This paper describes the evaluation of an experimental program in which eight student special education teachers supervised new preservice trainees in a Direct Instruction practicum. Improvement in trainees' presentation and error correction skills and their positive evaluation of the practicum suggest the effectiveness of this peer coaching…

Students in the five year Austin Teacher Program at Austin College (Texas) major in academic disciplines--English, history, mathematics, biology--not in education. Child psychology, educational psychology, and educational philosophy courses are taken through the departments of psychology and philosophy. The primary undergraduate exposure to the…

Criteria are established for a definition of "clinical supervision" and the effectiveness of such supervisory programs in a student teaching context are considered. Two differing genres of clinical supervision are constructed: "supervision by pattern analysis" is contrasted with "supervision by performance objectives." An outline of procedural…

IT-INSET (Initial Training-In-Service Education of Teachers), is sponsored by the Department of Education and Science. It supports curriculum development by local teachers, providing them with initial-year education students as aides. The operation of the project at one junior school and the science curriculum developed are outlined. (SJL)

Although new problems are encountered as field experience programs grow larger, the basic principles of assuring educational quality remain the same. One large field experience program, the Washington Center for Learning Alternatives, and the method of educational quality control developed by that program, are described. (Author/SF)

Previous research on the effect of technology-based preservice education programs has been assessed by examining changes in computer ability and attitudes. Systematic exploration looking at the effect of these programs on computer use has been noticeably absent. In addition, the role of emotions and use of computers has been largely ignored with…

Research about student attitudes toward preservice teaching experience focused on two primary questions: (1) What do undergraduate education students expect from early field experiences? and (2) What underlying construct can be inferred from these expectations which may be useful in shaping future experiences? Two types of data were collected from…