This qualitative study examined the growth of Jelani, a failing novice teacher who successfully received tenure following his third year of teaching. His progress seemed related to the quality of his relationships with different mentors. An unanticipated factor in Jelani's success was his participation in a university-based program for children,…

Many scholars have made the call for teacher educators to provide experiences that can lead preservice teachers to embrace a culturally responsive pedagogy. We investigated the use of brief autobiographies during an internship as a tool (a) for preservice teachers to examine their multidimensional culture; and (b) for teacher educators to assess…

The purpose of this study was to examine to what extent a teacher education program prepares teacher candidates to be effective urban educators who are reflective, innovative, and committed to diversity based on the perceptions and insight from students. As the nation grapples with an extreme range of outputs from our public schools, an…

This paper explores ways in which Teacher Education can be implemented in higher education through a consideration of "site-based" teacher education and its role in strengthening the practice-theory notion of teacher education (Strategic Education Research Program, National Research Council 1999). Many innovative educational approaches are…

This study aimed to develop and validate an instrument to assess the multidimensional nature of teacher self-regulation. A nine-factor structure was proposed: goal setting, intrinsic interest, performance goal orientation, mastery goal orientation, self-instruction, emotional control, self-evaluation, self-reaction, and help-seeking. Through a…

This paper explores an aspect of the knowledge of teaching required by teacher educators and how that knowledge might be developed if teaching (about teaching) is to be conceptualised as a distinct and important field in its own right--with its own forms of knowledge, ways of working and perspectives on the world. The paper focuses on…

In this study, we examined prospective middle school mathematics teachers' reflective thinking skills to understand how they learned from their own teaching practice when engaging in a modified lesson study experience. Our goal was to identify variations among prospective teachers' descriptions of students' thinking and frequency of their…

In the goal of science teacher education, the role of reflection to cultivate the teacher as a transformative practitioner has been largely recognised. Reflective thinking is crucial for teachers to be mindfully and knowledgeably situated in teaching and transforming their actions. This study looks into the dilemmas of teaching practical work in…

How can teacher educators encourage preservice teachers to develop an awareness of disability issues? How do they prepare them to look beyond labels to appreciate the individuality, strengths, and potential of each student they will encounter in their classrooms? This article describes a service-learning course at Bowling Green State University in…

This study was conducted with 15 pre-service teachers enrolled in the Reflective Practice Seminar in primary/junior division at a Canadian university. Data were gathered through interviews, informal classroom conversations and reflections over an eight-month period. This article considers the issue of how constructing a professional portfolio…

Reflective practice is a major focus of teacher preparation programs (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1992; Putnam & Borko, 2000; Zeichner, 1986; Zeichner & Liston, 1987), yet Zeichner (1986) asserts that developing reflective practice in preservice teachers has focused primarily on short-term, less systematic interventions and that interventions must be…

Using reflective journals to promote learning has been a common practice in the teaching profession. How learners present reflections in what are judged to be high-quality reflective writing remains under-researched. This paper explores the discourse features of teaching practicum reflective reports written by six pre-service student teachers of…

Quality teacher education programs recognize the importance of field experiences in preparing teacher candidates. A field experience planned during the first days of school is invaluable to the success of a new teacher. The School of Education faculty at The University of Mississippi took on the challenge of implementing a first days of school…

Through case-based pedagogy, this study provides preservice teachers the opportunities to develop a sense of the multicultural context and to acknowledge their knowledge about diversity. This study creates the chances for preservice teachers to share personal backgrounds and experiences with peers to help them develop open-minded attitudes and…

The struggle to equitably serve low-income students of color in U.S. schools is as significant as ever. The nation is also struggling to prepare enough teachers to serve these students. These challenges are exacerbated when these students are more likely to attend substandard schools. Combined, a tension exists between producing enough teachers…