This study investigated the mentorship experiences of TK-12 teachers of Color (TOCs) with community college students aspiring to be teachers and how it informed their growth and development into Murrell's (2000) definition of a "community teacher." Through analysis of 15 interviews with teachers of Color involved in the Community…

A 10-year trend of nationwide decreases in teacher preparation enrollments has been notable in physical education teacher education (PETE) programs. Many factors have been offered as an explanation for this drop, including the convenience of online options, a strained economy, political factors, and widespread "teacher bashing." This…

Diversifying the faculty in community colleges, especially with faculty of color, continues to be problematic as we move through the first decade of the 21st Century. National statistics show that overwhelmingly the faculty continues to be Caucasian, even at a time when more and more students are coming from diverse ethnic backgrounds. This…

Using a teacher recruitment and preparation model, a unique partnership between PK-12 schools, a community college, and a university is examined. The focus is on the training and credentialing of future educators, particularly from underrepresented backgrounds, in an efficient and quality manner to assist in meeting the current PK-12 teacher…

The Central Region states have greater percentages of rural students and schools than the U.S. average. This report describes how nine teacher preparation programs in the region prepare their graduates for teaching positions in rural settings. The study found that, of 120 institutions in the Central Region that offer teacher preparation, only 17…

Many education reporters are drawn to the beat because of its complexity and rich variety. Few topics provide such a wealth of political, business, human interest, breaking news, feature, and investigative stories. A reporter's day can start in a classroom with 4-year-olds struggling to learn to read, and end at a school board meeting with…

This report is based on the discussions of the February 2008 "Teaching by Choice: Beyond 2 + 2" conference, convened by the American Association of Community Colleges to focus on the growing role of community colleges as providers of teacher education and source of professional development for elementary, middle and secondary teachers of science,…

Because K-12 teacher preparation is enormously important to the future of the nation, university teacher education programs are being joined by programs at other educational institutions to address the teacher shortage. Community colleges are one of the most eager and entrepreneurial new providers. In addition to providing the first 2 years of…

The purpose of this study was to determine the practices used by community colleges in the State of Michigan to recruit, hire, and prepare part-time instructors in vocational-technical education, and to compare certain attitudes on six selected variables. Administrators of programs at twelve colleges were interviewed and the Minnesota Teacher…

Advocates the development of cooperative community college/university marketing endeavors to capitalize on institutional differences and to best serve nontraditional students. Addresses the possible benefits: the utilization of university staff and graduate student expertise, especially in research; improved teacher education and faculty…

Community colleges have the students, support services, and articulation mechanisms in place to play a critical role in the development of a multi-ethnic teaching force. This Digest examines the demand for an ethnically diverse teaching force and the possible sources of supply for that force. The role of the community colleges in recruiting and…

This document examines the many roles of the community college in teacher education. The community college can play a crucial role in the response to expected teacher shortages. Many community colleges provide the first year or two of undergraduate courses for a bachelor's degree in teacher education. Some states do not allow community colleges to…

This paper reports the results of an 11 item questionnaire designed to ascertain the personal characteristics and backgrounds of newly-hired faculty in the 19 state North Central region. Useable responses were obtained from 406 full-time community college faculty who were hired for the 1973-74 school year. Ninety-six percent were white, 57 percent…

Discusses the wave of retiring faculty--and the new recruits who will replace them--that is due to hit community colleges. Suggests that new teachers familiarize themselves with their "political environment," such as who wields the most influence within the department and who seems accessible for help and advice. (NB)

This paper addresses the role the community college plays and could play in solving the problem of critical teacher shortages across the country. It has been estimated that 2.7 million teaching positions in elementary and secondary schools will need to be filled within the next decade. The problem of teacher shortages is especially acute in rural…