For this study, 188 students from 4 social work programs completed a questionnaire about their motivation and performance in field practicum. Achievement motivation included task value, intrinsic motivation, perception of task difficulty, confidence, and self-efficacy. Students were more satisfied with field education and rated their social work…

In this article, the authors discuss the creation and evaluation of a CD-ROM to train and support prepracticum, practicum, and internship site supervisors in a master's-level counselor education program. The authors, from a small, rural, southwestern college, created and distributed a CD-ROM containing video and document resources for this…

Each year for the past 25 years, the Center for Gifted Education at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock conducts a three-week summer enrichment program for gifted and talented students entitled Summer Laureate/University for Youth. The program was developed to provide a practicum experience for teachers seeking either licensure or a master's…

Lack of confidence towards science is a major factor in the avoidance of teaching science at elementary school. This paper reports the results of a survey that asked 28 pre-service elementary teachers what they believed contributed to their confidence towards science and the teaching of science during a second year science unit where an holistic…

Over recent decades, there has been compelling evidence describing the powerful effects of teachers' sense of efficacy on their instructional activities as well as student outcomes. The present study explored the change of efficacy of prospective teachers over the student teaching period and the factors that might contribute to the change. Data…

Background: A paradigm shift in educational policy to create problem solvers and critical thinkers produced the games concept approach (GCA) in Singapore's Revised Syllabus for Physical Education (1999). A pilot study (2001) conducted on 11 primary school student teachers (STs) using this approach identified time management and questioning as two…

The social work academic community is currently considering and critiquing the idea of evidence-based practice (EBP). Given the vital part that practicum education plays in the social work profession, understanding the views of field instructors on this subject is essential. The George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University…

Pre-licensure, graduate intervention specialist majors participated in an introductory assignment, reporting their reactions to ten hours with an individual who had a moderate to intense disability. Research questions included: 1) How do pre-licensure, graduate students connect theory to practice? 2) What was it about the pre-licensure, graduate…

General classroom teachers are being called upon to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse population of students. Although abundant research documents the specific needs of gifted students, too little is being done at the preservice teacher level to prepare our teachers to recognize and meet these needs (e.g., Feldhusen & Kolloff, 1986;…

College campuses create small communities where mutually beneficial partnerships can be used to create practical work experiences for students. The procedure outlined in this article outlines how to create a partnership between the campus health and recreation center and an academic department to evaluate the implementation of a new smoking…

Providing a teaching practicum where university students preparing to be teachers can interact with children from different cultures has been widely praised as an effective means to improve teachers' cross-cultural sensitivity and teaching effectiveness. However, some research suggests that direct experience with minority children may in fact…

This study examined 49 student teachers' actions and perspectives when implementing a curricular innovation (the tactical games approach). Data were collected via videotaped lessons, interviews, and follow-up questionnaires. Questions for interviews and questionnaires were pilot tested and data were analyzed using the constant comparison method.…

This report describes a campus-based, student-centered model for practicums for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). It incorporates teaching and non-teaching activities and develops the self-knowledge and skills associated with effective classroom practice. The distinguishing feature of the program is the combination of…

A study evaluated the longitudinal effect of a planned in-school practicum experience addressing cultural diversity on the self-perception of student teachers regarding their interpersonal competence in such situations. Subjects were 18 student teachers of agricultural education and 6 student teachers of family and consumer science enrolled in the…

Future teachers were surveyed on their perceptions of the impact of their teacher preparation program upon their success in student teaching. Forty-one undergraduate elementary education majors were surveyed before and after the student teaching experience. Preliminary results suggest that prior to student teaching, these prospective teachers…