This paper describes the initial findings of a longitudinal case study that investigates the use of e-learning and communications technology to enhance the placement experience for full-time post graduate certificate in education (PGCE) students. It is a work in progress examining how a VLE might be used to support trainees while they are on…

The process used to select candidates for teacher training at a university department of education in the United Kingdom is described. Selection criteria, interview techniques, and essay requirements are reviewed for applicants for the training program. Tutors make assessments of candidates' personality during interviews, and these assessments…

This article describes the development of "content negotiable" activities for teacher development sessions used with South African teachers of English as a Second Language in the United Kingdom. Using input from the teachers involved, sessions focused on teaching speaking and listening to secondary pupils. Contains 13 references. (MDM)

This article explores the effects upon teacher learning of engaging in classroom research within the context of a teacher's professional life as a middle manager in a large urban school. The article is co-written by the teacher and his tutor on the Master of Teaching programme at the Institute of Education, University of London, where teacher…

From a comparative perspective, this paper analyses Chinese learners' intercultural experiences in Chinese and British educational contexts. In the Chinese context, interview and questionnaire research was carried out in 24 universities that hosted the British Council's English teaching development programmes. The research uncovered perspectives…

Summarizes the results of an experiment that asks 363 postgraduate student teachers in England to draw a sketch map of the British Isles. The maps were scored in terms of the number and definition of coastal features drawn and the relative area of the constituent political units. (MJP)

This paper considers ways in which trainee teachers can be helped to develop their ability to engage in reflection on their practice. The context for the research is a Block School Experience developed by tutors in the School of Education and Lifelong Learning at the University of Sunderland. An exploration of the nature of reflective practice…

This document synthesizes information on the training of trainers of young people in the United Kingdom. The report looks at the situation in the United Kingdom in relation to career patterns, mobility in and between various types of training situations (in companies, in training organizations, and in the vocational education system), as well as…

The topic of this paper is the "new sociology of education" (NSOE) and its origins in the early 1970's. One aim of this paper is to argue that the regressive return to a rigid and ahistorical academic curriculum is not the only alternative. A second theme is the suggestion that the NSOE took a highly unreflective view of the role of…

Examines policy issues on teacher supply and retention in the United Kingdom. The paper discusses the contribution made by teacher education courses and notes emerging trends related to student recruitment. It describes three policy-related issues for analyzing recruitment statistics and considers methods to ameliorate the supply problem. (SM)

This article offers an insight into the professional development and learning of an experienced teacher and middle manager in a secondary school stimulated by engaging in an innovative, mixed-mode Master's-level course at the Institute of Education, University of London. At its core is the personal narrative of the teacher as a learner based on a…

Recent years have seen a growth not only in biological knowledge but also, and more significantly for teacher education, in the types of knowledge manifested in biology. No longer, therefore, is it adequate for teachers to retain a Mertonian or a Popperian conception of science. Today's teachers of science need also to be able to help their…

This paper describes the development and dissemination of microteaching methods in Europe and some African countries, with emphasis on the United Kingdom and Germany. A tool for teacher preparation, microteaching trains teaching behaviors and skills in small group settings aided by video-recordings. Consistent with education reform efforts, the…

Correspondence institutions in United Kingdom and South Africa have enrolled Mauritian students in various courses and programs at different levels for more than 50 years. The institutionalization of second-generation distance education (DE) using print and audiovisual media had modest beginnings with the inception of the Mauritius College of the…

This book is the result of a cooperative project of several European countries--Belgium, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Each country involved provides a chapter outlining a national project or a specific organization presents its own approach and initiatives to teacher education, with particular…