This volume in the Language Teacher Research Series (Thomas S. C. Farrell, series editor) presents research conducted by language teachers at all levels, from high school English teachers to English language teacher educators, reflecting on their practices. The countries represented in this book are Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador,…

This is an account of student teachers' role concept based on the writings of 26 student teachers who completed their practical training in East London. Student teachers participated in a 13-week course of teaching practice combined with community work. Typical fears of these student were related to their ability: (1) to negotiate their…

In this chapter, a Canadian high school teacher describes a senior English independent study program requiring that each student become involved in a topic through experience. From previous teaching experiences, the teacher realized that the curriculum was secondary to the method of delivery, that learning happened when a teacher instilled in…

This essay--an example of narrative inquiry--draws on a fictional account of Merlyn the Magician acting as tutor to young King Arthur to illuminate the author's own experiences as a student and teacher. Those experiences are starkly contrasted in method and intent. On the one hand, stern Mr. Thompson with his white lab coat, map of the leaf, and…

This paper explores an expanded vision of teacher education as it relates to the concept of personal and marginalized identity. A study conducted in an all-male correctional facility tells the cultural stories of marginalized people who have had an implicit influence on teachers' experiences and development. Teacher development is defined as a…

This special theme issue of "Educational Foundations" contains five articles on the theme of "The Politics of Education." In Marie E. Wirsing's "Academic Freedom and Teaching Foundations of Education: A Personal Memoir," the history of academic freedom, including the constant struggles to preserve it and examples of significant infringement, are…

Music can play an important part in personality development. Music education for children encourages the capacity for creativity, improvisation, and understanding the beautiful and the good. This book traces the history of the music syllabus among teachers in the Soviet Union and discusses creative freedom and the instructor. It also presents a…

This study investigates how students and their teacher experience online courses and whether both parties perceive similar advantages and disadvantages in online learning. Both parties consider geographical independence advantageous and express the need for a well-structured course; this includes the administration as well as the content.…

This volume contains a summary of the results of the Queensland (Australia) Board of Teacher Education's investigation into the Bachelor of Education degree (B.Ed.) in the Queensland advanced education system. Data collection involved information obtained from interviews with teachers and teacher educators and their responses to a survey…

This research was concerned with teacher routines and with the ordinary things that experienced teachers do spontaneously in their classrooms in order to determine what these teachers do well, how they do the things they do well, and how they conceptualize their own classroom teaching. In deciding which teachers would comprise the research sample,…

The mathematics lesson of 63 Year 5 Australian teachers were observed over a term. A casual model linking student, school, and teacher background information, class size, teaching practices, and mean class mathematics achievement was developed for testing the relationship between class size, teaching practices, and student achievement. (Author/JAZ)

Small group learning monitored by tutors is an essential ingredient of medical education at Limburg State University. Tutor functioning was assessed by students and found to be related to tutor expertise in subject matter under discussion but not to tutor age or experience. (Author/MSE)

Explores the experiences of four Canadian prospective primary teachers during an eight-week practicum. Suggests that subjects' conformity to cooperating teachers' practices was not passive acceptance of the status quo, but rather a response to their interpretations of the constraints of being a student teacher. Contains 46 references. (Author/SV)

Reports a study that examined eight Canadian elementary schools that were implementing cooperative learning, describing the context and design of the cooperative learning project, identifying nine common concerns of elementary teachers beginning to implement cooperative learning, offering suggestions to staff developers for supporting teachers,…

Questionnaires completed by Australian preservice teachers before and after practical experiences in isolated rural settings revealed the value of these experiences in developing positive attitudes toward teaching in rural schools and in sensitizing teachers to the culture and conditions associated with teaching in rural areas. (LP)