During the 1980s Florida has mandated several testing programs to improve the quality of the community college, state university, and teacher education entrants and graduates. Three measures were intended to improve the quality of community college/state university/teacher education students. The College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) program…

Reviews the efforts undertaken in the Florida Model Microcomputer Trainer Project (FMMTP) and its statewide impact. Outlines its procedural strategies, trainer curriculum, networking system, and the results of its multiplier effect. (ML)

Florida's state university system recently invested over $76 million in its education colleges. A national accrediting process based on peer review would help determine the existence of high-quality programs. NCATE (the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education), the Florida Department of Education, and the board of regents are…

A cooperative venture between the University of West Florida and the Okaloosa County (Florida) school district addressed the concerns of two rural communities over changing school and community characteristics and the need for basic skills instruction for elementary and secondary school students. To meet and expand upon objectives of Teacher Corps…

A study was conducted to gather data that would provide a descriptive profile of educational, employment, and experiential backgrounds of full-time and part-time adult home economics teachers in Florida, with the intent of using the findings to design inservice activities to promote professional teacher development and more relevant programs for…

This study explored the benefits and limitations of mentoring relationships between pre-service and practicing K-12 teachers. Thirteen pre-service education students at a university in the southeastern United States and 17 practicing teachers from four states participated. The student participants were in their senior year in a teacher education…

The Unified Elementary ProTeach (Professional Teacher; http://www.coe.ufl.edu/school/proteach/index.html) program at the University of Florida (UF) prepares teachers with a dual emphasis in elementary education and mild disabilities. All graduates are also prepared to work with students who are English speakers of other languages (ESOL). The…

The Teacher Education Center Act (TEC Act) of 1973 provided Florida with a statewide system of centers intended to bring about reform in teacher education programs. The act mandated the responsibility for operating programs of preservice and inservice teacher education jointly to the colleges and universities, the school districts, and the…

Although children of migrant workers tend to have low educational achievement, there is a surprising lack of data concerning educational challenges faced by handicapped migrant children. It is often a teacher's advocacy that results in a student's enrollment in special education services. This paper describes a Florida program for training special…

The Chancellor and the Board of Regents of the State University System (SUS) of Florida initiated a comprehensive review of Florida's colleges of education and related programs during 1984-85. The following concerns were addressed: (1) strengths and effectiveness of teacher education programs in the SUS; (2) the impact of teacher certification…

Spurred by the inclusion trend, adapted physical education (APE) has emerged as a fundamental education service for children with disabilities in recent years. Although only 15 states have a certification or endorsement in APE, the Adapted Physical Education National Standards examination has produced certified APE educators in 21 additional…

There is increasing use of distance-learning technologies to deliver alternative teacher licensure and certification programs for those areas of shortage such as rural and urban areas and those content areas for which it is difficult to find highly qualified teachers. This article reviews those collaborative groups, partnerships, and institutions…

Three types of surveys were developed to obtain specific recommendations from key educational personnel for improving preservice teacher education programs. Deans, directors, and chairpersons of Florida teacher education programs provided profiles of faculty and students; the institution's standards for admission, selection, and retention of…

NCATE (2002) requires the measurement of knowledge, skills, and dispositions as part of its accreditation requirements for teacher education programs (Standard 1) and the use of unit assessment systems to aggregate and analyse data with a view toward program improvement (Standard 2). Data must indicate that candidates meet professional, state, and…

This volume presents findings and recommendations for increasing minority teacher recruitment and retention through policy change at seven colleges of teacher education in Florida. The seven institutions of higher education have formed a consortium known as the Florida TEAM (Teacher Education for America's Minorities) project. Its goal is to work…