This research targeted elementary education graduates of a large Southwestern university who were transfer students, and compared them to native students on selected variables. These variables included retention in teaching, and perception of supports and obstacles at the university. The sample consisted of 143 respondents: 73 native and 70…

Every year teacher preparation programs invest considerable time and energy in selecting and supporting cooperating teachers who serve as mentors for their student teachers. Given the weight and importance educators place on the student teaching experience and the powerful role it can play in shaping future teachers, it makes sense for teacher…

Nearly three years ago, in an effort to understand just how to get student teaching "right," the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) entered into a comprehensive review of the student teaching experience. For this work, the authors focused on its delivery at the undergraduate level for future elementary teachers, but they can identify no…

In an effort to understand what makes a student teaching experience strong, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has undertaken this comprehensive review. Over a period of two years, NCTQ researchers examined the student teaching programs of a stratified random sample of 134 higher education institutions across the United States, with at…

The purpose of the three studies in this dissertation was to enhance career and technical education in the area of agriculture, business, and family and consumer sciences. This dissertation contains three papers: (1) a Delphi study identifying the purpose, expected outcomes, and methods of documenting preservice teacher early field experience…

The aim of this article is to describe the model developed for the teaching practice component of the pre-service Distance English Language Teacher Training Program (DELTT) at Anadolu University, Eskisehir, Turkey. The steps taken to improve the model over a six-year period will be explained and the recent developments in the teaching practice…

Since the corporatization of national universities, the environment surrounding Japanese universities has dramatically changed in various respects. A series of government-led attempts have intended to support the domestic colleges and universities in gaining a competitive edge by improving the quality of teaching and research as well as…

The purpose of this study was to investigate how student teaching experiences impact the sense of teaching efficacy and feelings of preparedness of pre-service teachers in a nearly and elementary teacher education program (EC-6). The study used an action research, mixed-methods design. Seventy-one pre-service teachers at a large public university…

Ever so slowly, the United States is taking a harder look at how its teacher preparation schools are improving the quality of the teachers they produce. The signs are everywhere--from proposed federal action to state legislatures and school boards passing new oversight laws and regulations, to a newly marshaled push for stronger accreditation by…

With alternative certification programs gaining popularity in teacher education, the need to evaluate these programs has become much more necessary. Without strict guidelines to classify alternative certification programs, it is difficult to make generalizations about these programs because of different requirements for completion and…

In this paper, we question how we might disrupt positivist research paradigms that preclude students from engaging and experiencing ownership in the research process. We question what we, as professors, could do to facilitate the transition from traditional research reporting to a disposition of inquiry that allows for ambiguity and discovery in…

This dissertation study examines the experiences of four Latina/o pre-service teachers (PSTs) as they learn about teaching mathematics for understanding (TM4U) and integrating a child's out-of-school mathematical knowledge and experiences during instruction. Studying the knowledge and experiences of Latina/o PSTs is necessary because PSTs…

The aim of this study was to determine the distance education pre-service teachers' opinions about the teaching practice course. The study was conducted with descriptive method. For data collection, analysis and interpretation, qualitative research method was used. Out of the students enrolled at Open Education Faculty, Department of Pre-school…

The aim of this study was to determine whether student teachers are sufficiently prepared for teaching practice in primary schools. In this study, student teachers' teaching practice in real classrooms was evaluated by using observation and interview methods. For this purpose, interviews were conducted with seven guidance teachers, and each…

Cooperating teachers (CTs) are considered one of the most important groups who play a role in the success of student teachers (STs) during their field-based experience (FBE). The literature in the Arabic world about how CTs should fulfill their role has been limited with most of what is available has been conducted in the United States and other…