Responds to an article that offered 10 dichotomies in teacher education (SP 527 128). After discussing the dichotomies and examining the centrality of the theory-practice dichotomy, challenges teacher educators to understand and close the theory-practice gap, making harmonious the various structural, administrative, programmatic, and…

Introduces a collection of papers that discuss using personal histories to better understand teacher preparation and development. The article explains what personal histories are, why it is important to write about and research them, and how to understand the power of personal histories in the work and lives of teachers. (SM)

Maintains that early formative experiences have a strong impact on the way beginning teachers think about teaching and about becoming professionals, and that teacher training institutions must accommodate and deal with the autobiographies of preservice teachers; otherwise, future beginning teachers will teach as they were taught. (SR)

Presents a rationale for the self-study of professional practice and illustrates how the inquiry process can help make sense of professorial practice in education. Excerpts are included from life history interviews, individual and collective reflective writing, and electronic mail exchanges to explore the role of questioning in developing…

Examines an unsuccessful student teaching experience that became a successful learning experience through a reflection and debriefing process. Relates this experience to the stages of a conceptual model of experiential education and emphasizes the need for structured debriefing in preservice teacher education. (SV)

Develops failure indices and analyzes student teacher failure through snapshots of individuals unable to fulfill either their personal and professional expectations and/or those of their teacher preparation program. Research at three university sites found several relevant factors (age and gender distribution, poor interpersonal skills,…

Introduces several papers on reform in preservice education, addressing the nature and place of such reform within broader educational reform and discussing schools of education and their relationship to the reform agenda, schools of education as contexts for reform, teachers and their work, and beginning professors' role in preservice reform. (SM)

This paper examines the preservice teacher-university supervisor relationship within the context of field experiences, with a focus on roles and relationships. After describing typical perceptions associated with the preservice teacher-supervisor relationship, the paper suggests specific ways to enhance the understanding that preservice teachers…

Introduces a theme issue on the publish or perish issue in teacher education institutions. The collection of articles includes teacher educators' autobiographical accounts and personal narratives about the complexities, difficulties, challenges, prospects, and promises of researching within the academy as well as more distanced analyses of these…

Addresses the publish or perish issue within teacher education institutions, introducing a collection of articles that provides insights into how a set of alternative assumptions might be adopted and implemented by university administrators and teacher educators to create more manageable, balanced, effective, and satisfying institutional and…

This study focused on four novice teachers' failures. Though only one actually failed student teaching, each considered herself a failure, and all four chose alternate careers. The paper examines difficulties they encountered and identifies alternative patterns of supervision that might have allowed them to do more than survive their initial…

This paper explores the scope of "failure" in the period of practice immediately prior to teacher certification, by examining personal experiences of 25 preservice teachers who "failed" or hovered in failure-like circumstances. Indicators of failure included poor interpersonal skills, lack of primary focus on students, lack of commitment and…

Teacher educators must understand how personal histories influence the development of new teachers' pedagogies to influence how personal histories shape conclusions preservice teachers reach during college. The article examines insights gained from personal histories, discusses pedagogical thinking, and explains the impact educators' personal…

Examines the influence of educational experiences on preservice teachers' images and expectations of self as teacher, noting disillusionments in relation to understanding about the meaning of teaching. The paper explores discrepancies between preservice teachers' expectations and realities of schools, classrooms, and students. Relevant strategies…

Two beginning teacher educators exchanged letters documenting their experiences and highlighting contexts and demands associated with their roles and institutional expectations. Five years later, they reviewed their letters and now present an open letter to Deans of Education raising issues related to the induction and work of beginning teacher…