Much has been written in recent decades about the importance of community in education. According to some of the literature, a solution to the lack of community in preservice education might lie in the creation of "cohort programs," in which a relatively small number of student teachers engage in their coursework and (insofar as possible) their…

Although many nations are struggling with social studies, especially when addressing basic goals, ideas of citizenship, and developing and understanding global perspectives, it is New Zealand that provides an interesting case regarding social studies for social efficacy and global understanding. In this article, the author investigates the…

In the context of a professional-development reform movement in Quebec, the Ministry of Education asked universities to participate in the training of school principals so that they could implement a culture of continuous learning in their own schools. The university researchers used a bottom-up approach to initiate collaborative inquiry with 37…

This study investigated the practice teaching experiences of Bachelor of Education (Design and Technology) students at the University of Newcastle (Australia) to determine what they saw as successful and unsuccessful events. Eleven second-year students at the University of Newcastle were asked to write about one successful and one unsuccessful…

This paper highlights some emerging trends in rethinking the teacher education practicum in North America. The paper discusses several major obstacles to student teacher learning that persist even in many of the new inquiry-oriented practicums that focus on the development of reflective teaching practice. While teachers praise the value of the…

Reflective teaching has been one of the three main goals of the preservice teacher education programs in the National Institute of Education, Singapore, since the late 1980s. A three-phase study, of which the first two phases are described, is examining how Singapore student teachers think about teaching in the preservice programs, how they…

This study investigated ways in which regular group discussion might promote reflective teaching. Subjects were three experienced teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Korea who came together in weekly meetings to reflect on their work. Two were college teachers, and one taught in a private company. The study examined what the…

This paper describes a 1-year post-baccalaureate program for preservice teachers at Brock University (Ontario, Canada). The program emphasizes the relationship between course content and what students see and practice during student teaching. There is strong collaboration among faculty, faculty associates, and students. All participants have an…

This global literature review examines 47 refereed journal articles dealing with the initial and ongoing professional development of teachers during 1987-1997. Professional development is defined as a self-actualized, self-motivated, proactive approach to teacher education that centers on the growth of teachers in affective, collaborative, and…

This study investigated professional growth as an individually reflective and authentically collaborative phenomenon. The study examined the extent to which self-directed professional learning, personal and shared reflection, and authentic collaboration within a supportive study group could create changes in secondary teachers' perceptions of…

As part of an international comparative study of active learning in seven countries, a case study examined active learning practices of students and teachers in a small rural school in Finland. Small schools have traditionally existed in the sparsely populated Finnish countryside, and 60 percent of Finnish elementary schools have 1-3 teachers.…

Notes that collaborative action research helped Australian adult education teachers refine their classroom skills and reflect critically on their current practice. Discusses research designed to develop teachers' skills in meeting the English language learning needs of disparate groups of learners and to assist these teachers in redirecting their…

Interviewed postgraduate early years student teachers in England. Found that, despite initial doubts about the value of spending time in nurseries, the student teachers focused on similar teaching issues in nurseries and primary classrooms. In nurseries, students learned the importance of flexibility and responsiveness to children, of noncoercive…

Examined the reflections of a non-native English speaker who taught English as a foreign language in Korea, discussing her preferred modes of reflection during group meetings, individual meetings, and journal writing and describing her level of reflection in each activity (descriptive or critical). Overall, she clearly preferred group discussion…

A study involving eight female Canadian elementary teachers and counselors used metaphors to help teachers reflect on their experiences of student anger. This strategy enabled emotional detachment from students' anger, was more accessible than other strategies at highly emotional times, had moderating effects on inappropriate student behavior, and…