Data suggest that self-selection is weeding out the poorer students in the teacher education program at Western Washington University. The grade point average of freshmen, although declining for the university as a whole, is rising in teacher education. (Author/JM)

A study was conducted to investigate the reading habits and self-perceptions of teachers in various stages of their careers. Results indicated that preservice teachers read three times as many books as practicing classroom teachers and almost twice as many as graduate students in reading. (MKM)

Canadian and American education students rated each of four teacher types in terms of 24 characteristics. The ratings were factor-analyzed and the teacher types arrayed along the four resultant-principal components. Dissonance theory suggests that findings have implications for teacher education and for student ratings of teachers. (Author)

Describes the conceptions of (n=8) preservice teachers about how they would recognize a "good" teacher of elementary science and the people and experiences they believed influenced the formation of these views. (Author/MKR)

Explores the relationship between a teacher educator's explicit modeling of reflection on practice and (n=9) student teachers' developing use of reflection on practice. (Author/MKR)

Describes the responses of two different mathematics classes to small group-based instruction. Remedial students, despite achievement gains, expressed displeasure and frustration in the small group format. Elementary education students in a mathematics content course showed great enthusiasm and success. (Author/MKR)

Compared anxiety levels of graduate-level education majors using either hand-held calculators or statistical software in an educational research course. Found no statistically significant differences in anxiety by treatment group, but did find a significant treatment group effect by gender. Females using the software showed significantly higher…

Case studies conducted to identify, describe, and compare (n=3) preservice mathematics teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning mathematics during their initial six months in a teacher education program found six emerging themes: classroom relationships, management, discovery activities, assessment, communication, and motivation. (Author/MKR)

Promoting the acquisition of reflection skills among students in higher education has long been a goal of educators, yet, it has remained a challenging task with varying results. This article presents a study that rekindled the use of the genre of a friendly letter and implemented it as a reflection tool. Education majors' reflections, following a…

An introductory leadership course in an Ed.D. program in Child and Youth Studies, a redesigned early and middle childhood program at Nova University (Florida), is described. The course's purposes are first, to enable professionals to understand the impact of demographic, social, economic, political, and technological transitions on the…

A retrospective methodology was used to assess if there are any statistically significant relationships between university students who are in a teacher preparation program or who indicate an interest in becoming a teacher (preservice teachers) compared with those who indicate they are not interested in becoming a teacher (nonteaching students)…

A description is given of the major in Educational Services at Memphis State University (Tennessee) that is an interdisciplinary program designed to prepare undergraduate students to function as educators in non-school settings. The program includes: (1) general education, (2) professional education, configured in a tri-level core of courses; (3)…

Based on the premises that one's self-concept is the major motivator of human behavior, and that religious beliefs influence self-perceptions, this paper explores various relationships between socio-religious attitudes and their impact on female self-image. A group of 61 female teacher education students responded to a questionnaire assessing…

Selected students entering five alternative teacher preparation programs at Michigan State University were interviewed about their perceptions of their role as teachers. Opinions were solicited on: (1) reasons for career choice; (2) choice of program; (3) classroom rules; (4) time allocations for instructional activities; (5) allocation of time to…

A simulated planning session for the implementation of a model for the Evaluation of Teacher Education Graduates (ETEG) is presented. A brief introduction to the model, published by J. T. Sandefur in 1972 as "An Illustrated Model for the Evaluation of Teacher Education Graduates," is contained for reference purposes. Participants in the simulation…