This study employed ethnographic methods to describe and explain changes to beginning science teachers' (n = 6) practices and beliefs during a year long internship. Teaching practices were strongly influenced by the cooperating teachers. Initially, all six interns attempted to re-enact lessons they witnessed their cooperating teachers teach,…

Adaptive teaching expertise is a critical component of quality teaching. University-based supervisors should employ specific supervision styles and discourse types during post-lesson observation conferences to help student teachers develop adaptive competencies such as, justifying decision-making, balancing experimentation and risk to pupils, and…

This paper focuses on the assessment of student teachers during practicum. The study is contextualised in an Australian pre-service teacher education program in which practicum has been reconceptualised to help bridge the theory-practice gap commonly associated with "front-end loading" programs. Survey and interview data collected from…

Drawing from data on over 1000 prospective teachers in a large urban district including pre and post-student teaching survey data, this study investigates whether lengthening student teaching improves teachers' perceptions of instructional preparedness, efficacy, and career plans. The findings suggest that the duration of student teaching has…

Teacher research is increasingly described as an important aspect of professional development. In response, teacher education programs incorporate teacher research in their curricula. We report on the collaborative research processes of two groups of student teachers in a university teacher education program, focussing on elaboration and decision…

This paper examines the evolution of the professional identities of student teachers (STs) in a paired-placement teaching practicum in Vietnam. The study draws on activity theory, its notion of contradiction, and Vygotsky's concepts of ZPD and "perezhivanie", to identify the factors driving the intricate learning process. Opportunities…

Although there is evidence that teacher emotional intelligence is important for pupil adjustment and learning and for teachers in managing the emotional demands of their work, little is known about the levels of emotional skill of teachers and beginning teachers. Using Mayer and Salovey's emotional intelligence (EI) model and the MSCEIT test of…

Building quality work-based learning opportunities for student teachers is a challenge for schools in school-university partnerships. This study focused on the guidance of student teachers by means of a mentoring approach aimed at sharing practical knowledge, with student teachers' learning needs as an emphasis. The approach was built on…

This study aims to define the roles of cooperating teachers as mentors in the context of distance-learning teacher education. The participants included 358 cooperating teachers who mentored 4th-year student teachers in a Distance English Language Teacher Training Program in Turkey. To determine the roles that were perceived as mentoring roles by…

The author examines an inquiry-based teaching/learning model involving diverse members of learning communities. A triad of cooperating teachers, student teachers, and a college supervisor engaged in ongoing and purposeful discourse to explore the teacher-learner (expert-novice) reciprocity, school culture and social relations. In their efforts to…

Reporting on 12 case studies of student teachers, this paper examines how experiences during teacher education affect graduates' decision on job entrance. Interpretative data-analysis reveals that powerful sources of the shift in motivation to enter teaching concern interactions in which the person of the teacher is at stake. These mainly involve…

Meaning-oriented learning and deliberate practice may be expected to promote student teachers' continuous professional development. We interviewed twelve expert teacher educators to explore their understanding of these concepts, as well as pedagogies to stimulate them in teacher education. The experts understood deliberate practice in two ways: an…

The relationship between an associate teacher and student teacher is a crucial aspect of the practicum experience in pre-service teacher education. Establishing a professional relationship is critical to the learning that occurs during the practicum and is an element that requires a professional approach by all parties. This paper discusses a…

This study follows one individual student teacher during a period of one single school year in which she was supported in developing "presence" while teaching. The notion of "presence" was formulated by the teacher herself, and coincides with the growing interest in this aspect in psychology, and in theories about becoming a teacher. In her…

This paper reflects upon student teachers' conceptions of inter-community relations and the preparation they receive to address issues of diversity and mutual understanding. The study in Northern Ireland is set against a backdrop of political, social and educational change, where a shared, peaceful future appears possible. Student teachers at a…