Studied elementary through high school teachers' views on how to improve teacher preparation programs. Found that recommendations were consistent with those proposed by current reform initiatives: (1) requiring all teachers to know subject content; (2) teaching pedagogy in the context of academic content; and (3) offering prospective teachers many…

Presents results of a study of three student teachers in elementary general music. Uses writings and interviews of student teachers to explore their goals and teaching plans. Concludes that student enjoyment is the primary objective of beginning student teachers. Finds this replaced by student achievement of objectives as teacher gains experience.…

Explores the experiences of 17 Canadian seconded teachers--school teachers who act as university teacher-educators for a few years. Identifies seven phases of secondment and five central themes related to university and school cultures, reflective practice, seconded teachers' commitment to teaching and professional identities, and secondment as…

A survey of faculty in girls colleges in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, investigated teaching experience, academic rank, importance of audiovisual aids, teacher training, availability of audiovisual centers, and reasons for not using audiovisual aids. Proposes changes to increase use of audiovisual aids: more training courses, more teacher release time,…

The purpose of this study was to determine if an association existed between student achievement scores and classroom practices used among third-grade teachers in Upper East Tennessee. The variables included classroom environment, instructional context, and social context, employing developmentally appropriate practices (DAP). Teacher…

To explore issue-specific barriers to teaching environmental issues, the authors investigated secondary science teachers' perceived current and preferred teaching levels for 23 environmental issues and perceived barriers to teaching the selected issues. Subjects in this graduate project were 41 secondary science teachers self-selected to answer a…

The purpose of this study was to determine the nature of teachers' implicit in-action mental models about children's minds and learning, as inferred through the ways they teach. The work was based on the theoretical works of D. Schon, L. Shulman, and P. N. Johnson-Laird. Study participants included 24 student, novice, and experienced teachers. All…

A common belief among teacher educators is that different academic backgrounds may influence student entry level and rates of matriculation through the curriculum. This report describes a study using a "pretest/posttest" method to evaluate student academic progression, and to determine variance in scores between two groups of graduate students…

This teaching case was written by "Neil," a student teacher who tried to teach brilliantly, who put himself to the test, and concluded he failed. Neil uprooted his family to move to Alaska to reenter school in order to obtain a teaching certificate. He also wanted to escape the fast-paced life of California and a stagnant job. Neil…

Interviews with 74 Maori teachers in New Zealand who had resigned from teaching and with 23 other educators examined issues in the retention of Maori teachers. Former Maori teachers are described in terms of: (1) gender and geographical distribution; (2) type of teacher training; (3) colleges of education attended; (4) level of educational…

A study was conducted to determine how prepared secondary school home economics teachers in Wisconsin are to deal with various clothing and textile orientations. A mail survey containing a list of 99 clothing and textile concepts was sent to a random sample of 250 teachers. Preparation level responses ranging from exceptional to very poor were…

A study compared the English language proficiency levels of three groups of non-native English-speakers who teach English as a second language (ESL) in Egypt. The three groups were: (1) graduates of a department that was not an English department; (2) graduates of English departments; and (3) seniors in one Egyptian university's English…

This document describes and analyzes a laboratory school connected with an experimental Masters in Elementary Education program. Five areas of instructional improvement are emphasized: diagnosis, individualization, integration of the disciplines, humanistic teacher-child relationships, and teaming. Instruction focuses on the language arts. The…

Recertification of teachers, in other subject areas or for other grade levels, can become an important response to the oversupply of teachers in certain subject areas. By successfully completing a formal training program in a different subject area, teachers certified in one specialty can be licensed to teach in another, leading to the possibility…

The drop-out rate of new vocational agriculture teachers and the necessity of a method to determine problem areas that affect the success of beginning teachers were two important concerns of the Southern Research Conference in Agricultural Education. Therefore, a study was conducted to determine what, if any, changes need to be made by teacher…