A study was conducted to determine if vocational teachers in Massachusetts are receiving enough training and the kinds of training they need to be competent in the classroom. A variety of standard data-gathering techniques were used to collect specific information from vocational teachers, colleges, local schools, and the state department that…

Public Law 94-142 and other federal legislation mandate that all handicapped children receive a free and appropriate public education, including vocational education. In order to implement these provisions, personnel development of vocational and special education personnel is needed; therefore, each state that applies for federal funds must…

Analysis of teacher trainee performance ratings collected from special education teacher trainees (N=151), university supervisors (N=9), and cooperating teachers (N=44) revealed that all three groups perceived identical factors--instructional management, cognitive strategies instruction, and career/vocational education--as underlying the construct…

This qualitative study reports on Arizona Classrooms of Tomorrow Today (AZCOTT), a component of a Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers To Use Technology project. In conjunction with five partner school districts, Arizona State University West developed five technology-rich K-8 classrooms to serve as models for preservice students and university…

This study was designed to explore the ways in which preservice teachers' reflective judgment levels influenced their perceptions of and decisions about complex and ill-defined dilemmas they encountered in their field placement classrooms. Participants were ten traditional-aged juniors in a college teacher preparation program who were completing a…

This case study reports on the experiences of teachers and student teachers during the process of developing and implementing professional development sites (PDSs) at one urban and two rural middle schools. The study examines the phases of development that teachers go through in the process of developing PDSs and how teachers' level of development…

This study examined intern attrition within one urban secondary Professional Development School (PDS). The secondary school was 80 percent minority. Data were collected over 2 years using participant observation, semi-structured interviews, PDS questionnaires, intern personal journals, and document analysis of resignation letters. Informants…

This paper describes an initiative developed at Pittsburg State University, Kansas, that involved radically changing the program's performance-based standards and expanding the structure of the student teaching experiences to include multiple avenues of training and assessing teacher development. The paper: (1) identifies characteristics in each…

In 1998, the Board of Directors for the Washington State Institute for Public Policy directed staff to study teacher quality. The Institute examined three teacher preparation and development programs covering the early stages of teachers' careers: pre-service teacher preparation, beginning teacher assistance, and professional certification.…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the process used by learners to direct, locate, and integrate information resources for use in a project-based environment. Four cases (n=9, including three group projects and one individual project) were analyzed from an introductory educational technology course for preservice teachers during a unit…

This study explored how preservice elementary teachers experienced coursework and field experiences that fostered commitment to socially and pedagogically progressive teaching, especially development of against-the-grain perspectives. Interviews and observations indicated that against-the-grain perspectives evolved from complex interactions of…

Explores the classroom curriculum and instructional strategies of a white, second career teacher who created a culturally relevant teaching practice. Longitudinal data chronicled the development of her beliefs, values, and dispositions for meeting diverse student needs. Important themes were acquiring cultural sensitivity, reshaping the classroom…

Reports on a study of Muslim children in physical education classes in a British secondary school. Finds areas of cultural conflict, such as physical education uniforms and regulations about showering after class. Calls for better preservice and inservice teacher education in a wider educational and societal context. (CFR)

A study investigated the impact of six University of Georgia educational leadership workshops conducted for school districts. Positive impacts were seen in developing effective teams; retaining teachers in critical fields; inclusion of students with disabilities; integration of special education teachers and programs; developing successful grants;…

Research on a week-long internship in inner city Chicago schools and community agencies revealed that "border crossing" can assist social studies preservice teachers in learning about the inner city, but critical reflection and long term program commitment to unlearning racism and developing multicultural teaching competencies are…