This paper provides a rationale for the importance of new teacher induction. Data come from an examination of relevant studies and of local, national, and international induction practices. Successful induction practices (1) help new employees settle into their environment, (2) help them understand their responsibilities, and (3) ensure that the…

This paper describes the impact on preservice teachers of an education course entitled "Teacher as Change Agent" which was inaugurated in 1991 at Union College (Schenectady, New York). The course represents a concerted effort to help beginning teachers bridge the gap between the real and ideal in public education without losing their…

The broad area of teacher satisfaction is an important component in career decisions about teaching. Some sources of satisfaction are the joy of helping students learn, the sense of efficacy, positive relationships with colleagues, satisfactory working conditions, the leadership style of principals, and the prestige and esteem associated with…

This paper examines factors which may impact on recruitment and retention of members of the African-American teaching pool. Data were gathered through questionnaires and interviews administered to prospective and beginning teachers (N=41) to determine background characteristics, reasons for entering the teaching profession, experiences in teacher…

This study was conducted to examine changes in the self-perceived efficacy of teacher education majors who were surveyed first as student teachers in 1992 and again as first-year teachers in 1993. The instrument used was a survey of 30 items related to the Mississippi Teacher Assessment Instrument competencies and indicators. Thirteen of the…

This report documents a study that examines the first 4 years of a beginning chemistry teacher's career. The report explores the difficulties that are faced by the new teacher as she attempted to transform her formal knowledge of chemistry and pedagogy into the practical application of a high school chemistry teacher. The report includes the…

A proposal is made for a program focusing on the transition period between preservice and inservice teacher education. The first phase of the program would be attainment of a strong liberal arts background, culminating in a B. A. degree, containing little or no pedagogical theory or practice. The second, or training phase, would consist of an…

This paper reports a comparative analysis of beginning and experienced teachers' thinking about teaching subtraction with regrouping commonly called "borrowing"), and the role that textbooks play in their deliberations. Twelve beginning and nine experienced teachers appraised and compared two contrasing textbook selections dealing with this topic…

This paper reviews research that has been done in Australia on teacher education in the past decade. It presents some perspectives on the potential of that research to inform practice and to improve the process of teacher education. The research projects studied included preservice education, the induction of beginning teachers, and the…

Learning to teach ought to be a major province of inservice rather than of preservice teacher education. A "learning to teach continuum" consists of four phases in a teacher's development. During the pretraining phase, which begins with the first childhood exposure to school, patterns and ideas of teaching are formed, and a model of teaching is…

A growing body of research indicates that teachers have different job skills, knowledge, behavior, attitudes, and concerns at different points in their careers. Many of these changes seem to follow a regular developmental pattern from which three stages can be discerned. Stage I is the survival stage, during which beginning teachers are concerned…

The purpose of this study was to compare current student teacher preparation programs and practices with demands made of beginning speech teachers in Illinois. A questionnaire designed to gather recommendations on ways to prepare speech teachers for the actual teaching situation was sent to 159 student teachers from 20 Illinois colleges and 183…

A case-study methodology is used to explore the pedagogical content knowledge of three beginning secondary-school English teachers, all of whom entered teaching with strong literature backgrounds and no teacher education coursework. (IAH)

Describes a first-year teacher's efforts to become a teacher and her experiences of the complex relationships among control, subject matter, and teaching. The article stresses the importance of the institutional context within which the beginner works, noting her relationship with her department head and mentor. (SM)

Study investigated teacher differences in attributions and perceptions concerning student behavior. Expert, advanced beginner, and novice teachers discussed perceptions of students, attribution of behavior, and prediction of future performance. They differed in how they discussed student behavior and dealt with misbehavior but not in prediction of…