This article is based on an educational innovation, the creation of a cadre of teacher educators, in the developing world. Professional development teachers (PDT) were trained in an in-service two-year teacher education programme leading to a Masters of Education (M.Ed.) degree. The PDTs were expected to play three roles in their home schools upon…

The topic of effective teacher preparation, improved teacher quality, and higher academic learning and performance from teacher candidates has provoked major discussion at the national and state levels during recent years. Specifically, teacher candidates are expected to attain the necessary content, pedagogical, and professional knowledge, skill,…

In this article, the author reports on the curricular changes and testing focus that have occurred in her teaching since PRAXIS II: Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT) tests were mandated in Ohio, where she teaches at an urban, open admissions, commuter university. Classroom dilemmas are analyzed as they relate to changes in assessments,…

This paper describes the development and implementation of a series of videotapes of ESL classes for a pre-service teacher education program grounded in experiential learning theory. The videos included footage of ESL classrooms, and tapes edited and supplemented with interviews of ESL teachers. Our experience demonstrates that-with relatively low…

A long-standing goal for many teacher preparation programs is to link theory to practice (i.e., "linkages") for teacher candidates through close university-school partnerships. Essentially, the professional development schools (PDS) models were established to bridge this gap of theory and practice and to provide an environment in which…

This article is a description of the perceptions of pre-service teachers who have chosen to study in a teacher education program designed specifically to prepare them to work in urban elementary schools. Twelve volunteer participants were interviewed in the spring following their admission into the program. Participants and the researcher also…

Although there is widespread support given to the idea of strong home-school relations, little attention is paid to the issue in teacher education programs. To understand the perspectives prospective teachers bring to their professional program about working with families, we surveyed students just beginning elementary and secondary teacher…

This study, set in the teacher education program of a large, Midwestern public university, examines metaphors used by elementary pre-service teachers in writing about diversity and teaching in diverse settings with diverse populations. Using metaphor analysis methodology grounded in Lakoff and Johnson's work on conceptual metaphor and working…

Efforts at reforming urban schools have often revolved around choosing the "right" formulaic programs or providing sufficient funds to repair schools. However, too little attention has been paid to staffing schools with competent teachers who desire to stay and effect reform. Finding ways to educate student teachers and novice teachers at these…

For many novice teachers, the first solo effort in the classroom is a "sink or swim" experience. With good pre-service preparation that includes extensive field experience, the beginning teacher may feel more confident, but even those with the most confidence still find the complexities of decision-making bewildering. For those novices who are…

Three key publications from September 2000 point to rapid changes in the educational and arts environment in Hong Kong that will impact on the development of dance education. This paper provides some contextual details on the current state of dance education in Hong Kong and also examines the influence and possible ramifications implicit within…

Teacher education programs that want their future teachers to embrace and employee constructivist principles must strive to provide opportunities for teacher candidates to develop an understanding of constructivism. The paper presents a structure for embedding constructivist principles into early childhood and elementary teacher education courses…

"I am from a very small town in which almost the entire population is made up of White middle class society." This statement is a reoccurring theme of final Multicultural Education (MCE) papers by preservice teachers at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh (UW Oshkosh). Although this sounds like an innocuous statement, over the past 12…

The original study upon which this article is based began with a seemingly simple question that had origins in the author's own experiences as a high school teacher. Why do some teachers talk too much when they are teaching, and what can a teacher education program do to address this problem? When informed, then transformed, by available research…

This article proposes a set of human rights education standards for classroom teachers and, by implication, outcomes for teacher preparation programs. The discussion includes a brief description of human rights education and concludes with recommendations for teacher preparation programs.