Presents partial results from an ongoing Japanese study of teachers' practical thinking styles designed to clarify their practical epistemology. Five major findings of practical thinking styles are discussed, and the implications for teacher education in Japan are considered. (GLR)

Two Native-American graduate students' fieldwork involved teaching cultural heritage to Native-American inmates at Auburn Correctional Facility, New York. Through shared oral stories, readings, viewing Native produced films, and singing, the line between teachers and students became blurred and they became one group, learning oneness with…

Schlessman notes that Johnson's article on role of theory in second language (L2) teachers' education opens a Pandora's box in attempting to determine what it means to have two forms of knowledge, conceptual and perceptual. Johnson argues that theory can transform practice only if teachers have varied opportunities to make sense of theory within…

The proportion of time that teacher candidates in field-experience programs spent on eight types of classroom tasks was examined for two field-experience programs that differed in constancy of placement. In both programs, teacher candidates spent most of their time on clerical tasks and little time on whole-class teaching (their most valued task).…

In discussing the incorporation of constructivist instructional philosophies in education, this article examines the complicated shape-shifting that occurs across many constructivist ideas, demystifying constructivism by locating its identity or substance, synthesizing tenets that might bring identity to constructivism, and analyzing and…

A study of occupational stress and personal-strain levels among new and experienced male and female college faculty found no differences in stress or strain between male and female faculty or between new and experienced faculty. Role overload and avoidant coping were significant predictors of strain, with hardiness and responsibility for…

Explores whether reflective analysis promotes integration of theoretical knowledge presented in a course on motivation, with the practice of classroom management during a practice teaching round. Analyzes narrative accounts of practice where subjects recorded observations and reflections of experiences. Results indicate the presence of principal…

Delineates factors which facilitate or impede the relationship between classroom practices and teachers' understanding of the nature of science. Finds that teachers' conceptions of science do not necessarily influence classroom practice, though teachers' level of experience, intentions and perceptions of students were critically influential on…

A Mexican American teacher/administrator describes her experiences with bilingual education as a limited-English-proficient child, college student, bilingual teacher, graduate student, district administrator, teacher of bilingual teachers, and employee in a federal technical assistance center, and traces the impact of Title VII (the Bilingual…

Considers the experiences of Carrie who is a student teacher with learning disabilities during her first eight week field experience and addresses the problems that resulted because of her learning disabilities and reluctance to tell her cooperating teacher and university supervisor about her disabilities. Addresses the implications of this case…

Examined preservice teachers' situated understandings of teaching and learning and their developing voices using classroom stories and essays written before, during, and after their practicum experiences. The stories located students' voices in distinct ways and expressed growing awareness of classroom dynamics and the value of peer dialog in…

Investigated teacher retention and attrition by examining data from the 1990-91 Schools and Staffing Survey and 1991-92 Teacher Followup Survey. Results indicated that teachers with less experience were more likely to move or leave. Empowerment and higher salary were correlated positively with teacher retention. Appreciation of the intrinsic…

To help beginning teachers succeed, principals should identify individual teachers' strengths and weaknesses during the interviewing/hiring stage, balance neophytes' workloads, limit their extracurricular activities, establish expectations, select veteran mentors, offer informal formative assessment, be specific about classroom observations, and…

Analyzes interview data from 24 higher education faculty from 19 universities to assess the extent to which the cumulative advantage perspective was consistent with experiences they described as significant to their publishing productivity. Two factors voiced by a majority of participants relatively late commitment to an academic career and the…

A high-school English teacher deplores barking-media sound bites of politicians pretending to resolve complex educational problems with one-dimensional "solutions." Highlighting specific classroom learning situations, he ponders three paradoxes: justice is not necessarily fair; freedom comes with limits; and clarity comes through…