This essay highlights the value of an applied methodology course in program evaluation in the education doctorate program by exploring several benefits that it offers to enhance a doctoral student's ability to solve complex problems of practice. Observations and recommendations are made based on designing and teaching two cohorts of EdD students…

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education initiatives in the United States have surged as the demand for high-quality STEM education has escalated (Nadelson, Callahan, Pyke, Hay, & Schrader, 2009; Parry, 2011). The goal of this article is to present a description of how one STEM-focused elementary teacher preparation…

The aim of this study was to identify the needs of third grade classroom teaching students about science teaching course in terms of Parlett's Illuminative program evaluation model. Phenomographic research design was used in this study. Illuminative program evaluation model was chosen for this study in terms of its eclectic and process-based…

The establishment of the European Higher Education Area has involved specifying lists of professional competencies that programs are expected to develop, and with this the need for procedures to measure how every course within a higher education program is aligned with the program's competencies. We propose an instrument for characterizing this…

This document is a director's evaluation report for a teacher education project at the University of Kentucky. Among the program objectives listed are the following: a) to provide an understanding of the historical background of the junior college and of the major characteristics of the community college (including purposes of the private junior…

A policy decision taken at Michigan State's College of Education profoundly changed the nature and orientation of the elementary social studies methods courses taught. It was decided that the college would move from a relatively monolithic program to offering incoming students a choice of alternate programmatic routes to certification.…

A study was conducted to determine the attitudes of undergraduate education students regarding the importance of experiences with children and to examine the effects of age, prior experiences with children, and class standing on their attitudes. The purpose of this study was to seek an appropriate balance among field experiences, methods, content,…

Describes current programs and practices in training of modern language teachers in Latin America on the basis of visits to institutions in several countries, interviews with instructors and students, and program description materials. Sees a need to develop communication and a sense of professional identity among the members of the profession.…

This paper explores the question of the relative quality of the academic and professional components of teacher education programs from three different angles: (1) a critical assessment of several widely publicized and representative critiques of education courses with a focus on describing the variety of the criticisms and on assessing the…

This study sought to determine graduates' perceptions of program effectiveness in ten undergraduate areas of study at the University of Central Florida. Alumni responded to an original questionnaire that assessed three primary program components: foundations for teaching, specialization, and student teaching experiences. Questionnaire items…

Researchers investigated how prepared recent California State University teacher education graduates felt to teach limited English proficient (LEP) students. Results indicated subjects believed they had inadequate preparation in methods and adapting instruction in content areas. They felt they lacked opportunities to teach LEP students under the…

The Program reported here was designed to help improve the quality of education in the nations elementary and secondary schools. It pursued this goal in two ways: first, by helping selected, potentially influential experienced teache to pursue full-time graduate education in specially planned courses of studies; second, by fostering and…

This study was conducted to answer three major questions relative to undergraduate preservice secondary education programs: (1) What courses in pedagogy are required of all secondary education majors and how many credits are awarded in each area? (2) What are the current practices relative to student teaching credit and evaluation? and (3) How…

The Professional Semester program in the College of Education at Northeast Louisiana University originated in 1975 when a need was recognized to integrate practical applications of what was being taught in the required methods courses of the elementary education program. Program accreditation was received in Fall, 1998. This study was conducted to…

The validity of several predictors was examined against multiple criteria of student program success. Subjects (N=437) were selected from about 800 students in the elementary teacher education program of a small California state university. Predictor variables for each subject included: (1) undergraduate grade point average (GPA); (2) subscale…