This paper examines the results of a cross-sectional study focusing on teacher beliefs and opinions about teaching. Orientations to teaching of students in undergraduate teacher preparation programs at Michigan State University (MSU) and experienced classroom teachers are described. Two central questions were addressed: (1) How do the opinions and…

Comparisons of 174 elementary education majors with 178 secondary education majors at a midwestern university revealed important similarities and differences in high school academic preparations, teaching experiences, career plans, general orientations to teaching, and educational beliefs. Analysis of responses to a 210 item survey questionnaire…

This study examined the impact of the Mississippi Legislative Reform Act on elementary education majors. The purpose of the study was to organize data to be used to provide short and long term program planning specifically for future elementary school teachers. Phase one of the study provided a demographic profile of students majoring in…

This study sought to determine differences between elementary and secondary preservice teachers in their preference for various instructional methods and goals in their professional education courses. Subjects were 129 elementary and 110 secondary students enrolled in a course required for teacher certification and usually the last course taken…

This is a preliminary report on an ongoing study of relationships between education majors' learning style preference (for concrete or abstract stimuli) and (1) the grade levels at which they choose to teach and (2) their evaluation of their instructor's teaching effectiveness. (Author/SJL)

Examines the effects of a science methods course on the attitudes of the preservice elementary teachers (n=145) toward teaching science. Results indicated a significant positive change in attitude that was not significantly different for low and high science achievers. (MDH)

The purpose of this study was to examine programmatic factors that positively impact changes in elementary preservice teachers' teaching self-efficacy beliefs. Specifically, it examined the impact of science methods courses, student teaching, and science content courses on elementary preservice teachers' science teaching self-efficacy. The Science…

This study sought to determine the effects of early field experience on the attitudes of elementary preservice teachers toward the career of teaching and the teaching environment of the elementary school. Participants in the study were 95 elementary teacher education students enrolled in an internship program at the University of South Florida in…

THIS STUDY EXPLORED THE CHARACTERISTICS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS AND, IN PARTICULAR, TEACHER PERSONALITY SIGNIFICANCE. TO CLARIFY THE CONCEPT OF EFFECTIVE TEACHING, INFORMATION ON THE NATURE OF SPECIFIC KINDS OF TEACHERS WAS SOUGHT. INTERVIEWS AND UNSTRUCTURED OBSERVATIONS OF INSERVICE TEACHERS WERE CONDUCTED. A STUDY WAS ALSO…

In this essay the author questions the rationale and requirements for teacher preparation of elementary-secondary and college instructors, points out the disparity between the two, and calls for a teacher education system that recognizes that effective teaching occurs in the same way at both levels. (JMD)

Fourteen word problems, half of which were problematic from a realistic point of view, were administered to 332 Belgian preservice elementary school teachers who also saw answers given by 4 students. Results revealed a strong tendency to exclude real-world knowledge from spontaneous solutions and appreciations of student-supplied answers. (SLD)

Describes a teacher education program designed to increase preservice teachers' confidence in their ability to instruct elementary children in hands-on science. (Author/MKR)

Reports of 156 preservice teachers concerning their own disciplinary experiences in their families of origin were used to predict subsequent selection of punitive or nonpunitive classroom management strategies. Results suggest that authoritarian upbringing is related to selection of punitive strategies. Implications for teacher training are…

Examines the effects of job and organization attributes, applicant characteristics, and recruiter characteristics on job applicant attraction to an elementary school teaching position. Forty-eight university education majors (24 with teaching experience and 24 without prior teaching experience) role played the part of job applicant for an…

Elementary teachers have been identified as the single most important influence on student's future attitudes and motivations toward science. Research indicates that K-8 science teachers emphasize memorization more than the exploration of questions or critical thought as a result of their college science experiences. The reasons students gradually…