Many teacher preparation programs offering dual certification have engaged in program redesign to establish greater integration between general education and special education. This article presents findings from an exploratory case study that examined the perspectives of former preservice teacher candidates and school personnel regarding an…

This study explores the relationship between the length of student-teaching experiences and new teacher efficacy. Each year thousands of prospective new teachers endure the interview processes to be hired, complete induction programs, and begin their careers only to determine that the teaching profession is not what they assumed it would be. Local…

The authors surveyed student teachers in a yearlong internship and their peers in a traditional semester-long internship to compare perceptions across different practice teaching experiences. All participants were enrolled in the same university and were similar across gender, age, ethnicity, and undergraduate educational experiences. The students…

Student teachers in an eight-week practicum gained as much teaching sophistication as those in a 16-week program. (MM)

Designed as the first stage of a four-year evaluation of the education practicum program at the University of Alberta, this study had two major purposes. The first was to provide a pool of data to serve as a base line against which to compare new practicum programs. The second was to identify satisfactory and unsatisfactory aspects of the program.…

During the past ten years, a series of small studies have been conducted at Memorial University of Newfoundland (Canada) to examine the influence of varying the length of the student teaching practicum on the self-concept of teachers and their motivation towards the profession. Measures of self-concept and motivation have been taken by student…

Strategies for implementing changes that will improve the effectiveness of teacher education are discussed. These include: (1) redesigning curriculum by incorporating entrance and exit criteria and a performance-based emphasis, allowing for continuous assessment of the effectiveness of the curriculum and ensuring a more individualized and…

This study collected and analyzed data appropriate for documenting the implementation of two programs in teacher education at Memphis State University--the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program, and the Lyndhurst Fellowships, a one-year program for certifying teachers for secondary schools. Qualitative data were obtained through semi-structured…

This study examined the time constraints imposed on teacher interns by the fact that they enter a classroom already established and owned by a cooperating teacher and leave the scene before the actual year-end closure. Participants in the study were eight secondary language arts student interns. Separate case studies were completed for each…

Researchers compared an eleven-week term student teaching program with a fifteen-week semester program. Examined were the effects of the length of the student teaching experience on student teachers' perceptions regarding teaching skill development and on the amount of time spent in actual classroom instruction. Subjects were nine 15-week semester…

An evaluation study assessed the effects of a one-year student teaching internship for juniors at the University of Southern Maine on student teachers' anxiety levels and their attitudes toward pupil control. Results were compared with those of a senior year, semester-long course in student teaching. (PP)

A questionnaire was developed to determine the understanding and response of student teaching field experience directors to the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) student teaching requirement. NCATE-approved schools in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, and Nebraska were surveyed. The NCATE requirement…

The purpose of this study was to determine if, in the view of the supervising teacher, there were differences in the performance of student teachers in an eight week program and in a full semester program. Participating supervising teachers had supervised two or more student teachers under a full-time, eight week student teaching program, and also…

Compares effect of practicum length on professional predispositions (motivation toward teaching, attitudes toward teaching career, student teachers' self-concept) of 60 Canadian student teachers. Students completing 20-week practicum had significantly lower values than those completing 3-week practicum. Only after lengthy practicum does reality of…

This study examined whether increased exploratory field experiences affected the perceptions and evaluations of secondary school student teachers at Indiana State University. Studied were 238 student teachers who were simultaneously undergoing two different professional preparation programs: 154 were in a program requiring only one field…