Faced with urban schools' reluctance to host student teachers on practicum because "student teachers disturb their teaching order," Northeast Normal University in Changchun, China, collaborated with four rural provinces to develop a University-Government-School (UGS) initiative for rural practicum placements. To understand the teachers'…

As part of the bachelor's degree in Secondary Education at Laval University, students have the option of completing a final practicum in their region of origin. The structure of this final practicum requires new configurations in order to meet not only the requirements of practical training in teaching, but also the needs of remote communities who…

School associates (SA's), or cooperating teachers (CT's), have arguably been one of the most powerful influences on the teacher candidate's (TC) pre-service experience. For this reason, most studies about the practicum have focused on this relationship. However, while observing one visual art student's practicum as her Faculty Advisor (FA) for the…

This paper reports on research that suggests a new view of assessment of the practicum in teacher education. By transcending the stereotypes of "failing" student teachers who do not achieve traditional benchmarks, this new lens highlights the complexity, diversity and inequality of experiences through listening to the voices of the…

Collaboration is becoming increasingly important in the realm of education (Novoa, 2004). For instance, as soon as training is undertaken, the future teacher must develop an ability to cooperate in a pedagogical context. However, in order to learn to make a relevant contribution to a teaching team's undertakings and to provide innovative…

Although it has been the practice of the University of Manitoba to place the majority of student teachers in metropolitan schools, recently there has been increasing pressure to place students in rural school divisions as well. One rural school division, however, has given some evidence of distrust in the university faculty and in its methods of…

Examines the role of Canadian supervisors working with aboriginal student teachers and their non-Aboriginal cooperating teachers in the extended practicum. The article discusses how to solve interpersonal dilemmas using the contextual supervision model which conceptualizes the supervisory process and generates possible strategies to guide…

This study, conducted in the context of a Canadian Aboriginal teacher education program, sought to determine if student teachers', cooperating teachers', and university supervisors' perceptions about the role of the university supervisor differed, particularly when this triad was composed of individuals from different cultural and ethnic…

The student teaching experience can be successful if the student teacher, the host teacher, and the student-teacher supervisor share common goals. Because these goals are frequently not shared, a study was undertaken to develop a scale for the observation of student teachers that would both promote student teacher development and improve the…

The lack of clear consensus among cooperating teachers and university advisors about expectations for the student teacher role ties in closely with the confusion that currently exists about the respective supervisory roles. Student teaching continues in many programs to be structured around the traditional triad which has been characterized as…

This study sought to determine the perceptions of preservice student teachers, cooperating teachers, and faculty supervisors regarding their roles and responsibilities. A total of 337 students, 38 faculty members, and 169 cooperating teachers responded to a questionnaire which elicited perceptions about role specific practicum activities connected…

Designed to promote equitable and fair student teacher practicum supervision and evaluation, contextual supervision (CS) can be used by both college and school-based supervisors. This approach is supported by current reforms in teacher education, contemporary supervisory models, and validation in actual practice. (IAH)

An experimental project at the University of Victoria (British Columbia) offered student teachers professional consultation by teleconferencing and conference calls as a way of improving the cost efficiency of the service. The project had only partial success, as the students preferred the personal aspects of face-to-face supervision over the…

The traditional goals of teacher education programs in Canada are preparing teachers who can work within existing school systems, who are knowledgeable in subject areas, and who have skills in various teaching techniques. These goals are at variance with the recognized need on the part of the schools for teachers who can integrate theory and…

This research examined the developmental progression of child and youth care students in practicum placements and teaching strategies used by practicum supervisors according to their practicum students' developmental levels. Eight university practicum supervisors participated in a focus group regarding their perceptions of differences between…