Technology & engineering teacher preparation programs at colleges and universities in the United States have been in a state of decline since the 1970's. In the fall of 2013 a study was conducted to compare the required curricula of the 24 undergraduate programs that maintain enrollment of 20 students or more in order to determine what a…

Within the current federal, state, and local contexts of educational reform, teachers must be recognized as central actors in policy work, but rarely do we explicitly consider preparing teachers to become policy actors. Understanding these implications for teacher education, we investigate teacher candidates' learning of the complexity and…

The regression discontinuity (RD) design (Thistlewaite & Campbell, 1960; Cook, 2008) provides a framework to identify and estimate causal effects from a non-randomized design. Each subject of a RD design is assigned to the treatment (versus assignment to a non-treatment) whenever her/his observed value of the assignment variable equals or…

This study documents what pre-service family and consumer sciences (FCS) teachers learned about diversity through observations in diverse FCS classrooms. Students reported that they experienced a change in their comfort level with diverse settings. Student feedback was used to modify FCS teacher education curriculum in subsequent semesters.

The field of teacher preparation is falling short of its most important responsibility: ensuring that the teachers we train are ready to do the job. For more than a decade,TNTP preparation programs produced teachers who were no more or less effective than teachers from any other program-- some were great, some were poor, most were about average.…

A reflective portfolio as a capstone assignment was selected to accomplish recognition by teachers completing a science, technology, mathematics, engineering master's program for elementary teachers about their professional and personal changes and to provide program evaluators additional qualitative data regarding attainment of program goals. As…

Three-dimensional (3D) virtual worlds (VW) have great potential for contemporary art education. This article introduces the key characteristics of 3D VWs and reviews the research literature and application of VWs in education and art education. After explaining how 3D VWs provide unique possibilities as a contemporary art medium, learning tool,…

Current legal mandates require that students with disabilities in K-12 settings have access to assistive technology (AT) devices and services. Therefore, educational teams serving students with Individualized Educational Programs (IEPs) must consider various ATs and identify services to support their implementation in educational settings.…

The lack of research about the efficacy of the three primary methods for training teachers to work with students from diverse cultures makes it difficult for universities to provide the proper training. The following quantitative, non-experimental, causal-comparative, ex-post facto study gathered and analyzed data concerning the efficacy of the…

In 2005, a group of faculty who work in the field of teacher education and are invested in social justice formed a group to examine how teacher preparation programs address (or often do not address) LGBTQ lives and issues. Concern about the invisibility of LGBTQ people, movements in education, and a commitment to changing the current state of…

The purpose of this report is to outline recommendations for submission to the Illinois Board of Higher Education on the preparation of junior college teachers. Ways in which Illinois' universities could alleviate the shortage and improve the quality of junior college teachers are suggested. The report is organized into two parts, consisting of…

Illinois junior colleges recognize the demand for trained preschool personnel and attempt to provide such vocational preparation. (AN)

POPULATION INCREASES HAVE BEEN PARALLELED BY INCREASED DEMAND FOR HIGHLY TRAINED AND SKILLED PERSONNEL. ALTHOUGH MUCH OF THIS DEMAND MUST BE MET BY THE JUNIOR COLLEGES, FACULTY GROWTH HAS NOT KEPT PACE WITH STUDENT ENROLLMENTS, FOR VERY FEW INSTITUTIONS HAVE PROGRAMS TO PREPARE TEACHERS FOR 2-YEAR POST-HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAMS. SOUTHERN ILLINOIS…

When the faculty of the Educational and Interdisciplinary Studies Department at Western Illinois University were asked to develop an online research methods course several years ago, the author was skeptical. How could anyone possibly teach the complexities of research over the internet? The author's face-to-face course focused on helping students…

Compares results of a 1979 survey of graduates of Pennsylvania State University's English teacher preparation program with results of a 1969 survey of Illinois English teachers. Indicates changes found in undergraduate English education programs and in teachers' perceptions of the effectiveness of the programs. Also discusses the impact of…