The teacher education program at Doane College (Nebraska) was substantially overhauled to provide additional support for beginning teachers. Program changes include raising admission and graduate requirements, offering graduate courses and supervision for new teachers, and cooperative activities with the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. (PP)

Camp HELP (Handicapped Experiential Learning Program) at Jacksonville State University (Alabama) offers educational, psychological, and behavioral therapeutic play services, through university students of physical and special education, to multihandicapped children from the community. Activities, facilities, and staffing for the summer day camp…

Documents in the ERIC databases are listed that deal with legal issues which might affect teacher education institutions, their students, or their faculty. Trends toward stricter state mandates for certification, higher graduation requirements for education majors, attention to the rights of students and teachers, teacher liability, and educating…

Provides a rationale for including the epistemology of science and its relationship to school science education as an essential component in science teacher training programs, including existing and new resource materials. Also offers a possible curriculum for inclusion in these programs. (Author/SK)

Three possible avenues for the future of teacher education are: (1) continue current practice and risk diminishing public confidence and teacher quality; (2) allow state legislation to improve teacher education programs; and (3) combine a more rigorous selection and preparation process in professional schools of education with extended periods of…

Second in a four-part series on campus-based programs in teacher education, this article considers the problems inherent for teacher education in: (1) an undefined body of professional knowledge; and (2) an insufficient amount of professional studies in teacher preparation programs. Implications, possible courses of action, and barriers to…

An annotated bibliography is presented containing 28 citations of materials available in the ERIC database. Subjects covered are: (1) teaching conditions and the school environment; (2) fostering professionalism in teaching; (3) the school environment and staff development; and (4) involvement of schools, colleges, and departments of education in…

The Integrated Centre for Teacher Education at the University of Aveiro (Portugal) is a teaching and research unit designed to train teachers for the preprimary, basic, and secondary schools and to foster educational research. The objectives and characteristics of the Centre and its programs are described. Problems which emerged during its…

Teacher preparation programs should be designed around generic competencies based on what beginning teachers should know and be able to do and at what levels of proficiency. Two types of teacher competence are considered: (1) the functions and tasks of teaching; and (2) the behavior and actions of the teacher. (JN)

The article generally describes the existing specialized native Indian teacher education programs in Canada. It notes their rationales, effectiveness and problems, and discusses four trends for the future. (SB)

Reports on the program for the inservice training of secondary school English teachers, conducted at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst; and offers it as a model for similar efforts by college English departments. (RL)

Two myths concerning the value of preservice field-based experience are explored: (1) Practical school experience contributes to the development of better teachers; and (2) Teacher education's institutional structures are totally coercive and students passively conform to school bureaucracies' conservative norms. (JN)

A bilingual/bicultural program using parents, paraprofessionals with specific language skills, and educators is described. The methods, culture, theory, and languaqe components of a teacher education program to develop staff for program implementation are detailed. This model for a total program can be adapted to other school districts. (PMJ)

Studied perceptions of early childhood teachers and employers regarding early childhood teacher education. Found that previous experience with, attitudes toward, and understanding of children and entry qualifications were weighted higher than age and gender for teacher selection. Lectures, group discussion, direct experience with children, and…

Describes the development of teacher education programs at Henderson State University (Arkansas). Through extensive collaboration with school districts in its primarily rural service area, the university has modified Goodlad's urban-focused model of the professional development school to fit rural circumstances. (SV)