This report explores what state boards of education can do to enhance the performance of classroom teachers, and it looks at those areas within the teaching profession that are ripe for improvement. The document focuses on four main areas upon which state boards of education have direct impact: (1) revamping policies and regulations for teacher…

Saskatoon Catholic and Public School Board principals were asked by the College of Education, University of Saskatchewan, to provide feedback on the university's internship program, specifically, the major positive aspects to be retained and changes or revisions to be considered. Among the characteristics of the program to be retained were the…

This study, conducted by the Basic Research and Implementation in DevelopinG Education Systems (BRIDGES) project, examines the best use, effectiveness, and costs of the following approaches to preservice and inservice elementary school teacher training in Sri Lanka: (1) Colleges of Education; (2) Teachers' Colleges; and (3) Distance Education. An…

This conference presentation describes the characteristics of a living educational theory, explores its implications for self-study methodology, and offers a self-study from an educative relationship with a teacher educator. The theory has its basis in the following ideas: educators exist as living contradictions when their values are negated in…

For many preservice teachers, student teaching is the culminating and paramount experience in their preparation to The purpose of this study was twofold: first, to determine the effectiveness of an alternative student teaching supervision model by on-site supervision by the supervising teacher (the university supervisor does not visit the…

This trainer's manual covers module II of the Program for Infant/Toddler Caregivers (PITC), a four-module video training course for providers of family and center day care. The manual is intended to be used by module instructors and includes an overview of the PITC and instructions for using the manual and its accompanying videos. The module…

This paper reports on a follow-up survey of alumni (N=104) who had pursued degrees through the Education Department at Castleton State College (VT). The questionnaire was concerned with alumni perceptions regarding the attainment of outcome-based competencies. The quantitative data reported respondents' knowledge about subject matter and the…

Discussion of the evaluation of training programs for teachers of English as a Second Language consists of: (1) characterization of general approaches; (2) review of reasons for interest in program evaluation; and (3) description of a University of Northern Iowa (UNI) evaluation project that uses a portfolio approach extending 3 years beyond…

This paper recommends new directions for teacher education in the preparation of early childhood (EC) teachers. It reviews the historic fragmentation of the field, present teacher education practice, and the changes needed to address the needs of children from birth to 8 years who increasingly live in poverty, come from minority populations, face…

The efforts of the teacher education program at Northern Michigan University (NMU) to improve the education of teachers in field settings are described, using criteria of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) related to field experience programs. The paper discusses how the NCATE criteria are met or exceeded through…

A study tested the feasibility of recruiting career switchers, early leavers and retirees from government and military service to teaching. The study also documented the need for a National Center for Transition to Teaching (NCTTT). The effort established a National Board of Advisors consisting of 17 high-level military, government, and university…

Traditionally, the knowledge base has been defined more as product than process and has encompassed definitions, principles, values, and facts. Recent reforms in teaching and teacher education have brought about efforts to redefine the knowledge base. The reconceptualized knowledge base builds upon the earlier model but gives higher priority to…

Preservice teachers enter formal studies of teaching with an array of personal history-based beliefs and about teaching, classrooms, and students. This report traces the interactions between preservice teachers' personal history-based lay knowledge and their decisions about the potential value of coursework-based principles of content area reading…

A program plan was developed at Butler University (Indiana) which responds to the call for teacher education reform. The Butler response incorporates research of the professional educational community; reflects the direction of the university at large and the college of education in particular; addresses the needs of students at the university;…

This book contributes 8 chapters on issues related to the general movement in the United States to reform teacher education: "Teacher Education at the Crossroads" (Thomas J. Lasley and Joseph Watras) details some areas of difficulty in achieving reform; "Teacher Preparation in the Normal School" (R. S. Patterson) describes and analyzes the role of…