Suggests that teacher research based on narrative inquiry must question the truth of teacher narratives and seek multiple critical readings from varied analytic approaches. Research on Australian preservice teachers' visual and written narratives (picture books) about different aspects of their professional practice indicates that this method is a…

Follows a preservice teacher who learned to challenge her assumptions about children's literary responses as she engaged with one child in ongoing imaginative conversations about literature. Not enthusiastic about reading, and detached from her own heritage, she learned to enhance the child's literary interpretation through connections to the…

Discusses using visual representations of children to help pre- and in-service teachers reconsider the ways they, as adults, relate to children. Focuses on historical depictions of children, images of children from today, and the photographs Anne Geddes. (CMK)

Considers implications for British teacher education of the Macpherson Report, examining the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry; considering evidence that teacher trainees are frequently denied access to anti-racist education; cataloguing the dilution of the thrust of the Swann Report; illustrating how ethnic diversity was effectively removed from the…

The purpose of this research was to determine how an inquiry-based, whole-plant instructional strategy would affect preservice elementary teachers' understanding of plant science principles. This study probed: what preservice teachers know about plant biology concepts before and after instruction, their views of the interrelatedness of plant parts…

Most of those teachers believing in and supporting active learning propositions begin their internships or student teaching practicums fired up about what they can accomplish and how they will do it. However, very often the realities and rigidity of either the school systems in which they work, the cooperating teachers or mentors with whom they…

In this article, we report on student teachers' perceptions of their cohort experiences. Using the lens of social capital theory, we analyzed their responses to an open-ended question on a survey and faculty members' responses in focus groups. The structural properties of cohorts--closure, stability, interdependence, and shared…

Whatever happens in 2020, schools and teachers will be very different. The teachers in training now, and those currently teaching, need to be prepared to be flexible, to manage change, and more than that, to be agents of change. Those 18-year-olds currently entering training began school in 1991; they are truly National Curriculum babies and, the…

Since NCATE requires teacher preparation programs to integrate technology, this article begins the dialogue for sharing start-up strategies. This article shows how one program (Adelphi University) has integrated digital video assignments into the teacher preparation program. It is hoped that this will spur interest and effort from other teacher…

Among art education theorists and writers, university faculty, graduate and some undergraduate students, notions of visual culture are being advocated, played with, and adopted as theoretical frames for preservice and graduate art education programs. In this paper, the author addresses the gap between theory and policy, examines possible responses…

Beginning teachers face a myriad of challenges as they enter schools, including a growing emphasis on standards and accountability, an increasingly diverse student population, and lack of support or mentoring. Current attrition rates for beginning teachers are high and continue to grow. This situation is more pronounced in low-income urban schools…

In an investigation of 149 pre-service primary teachers' understanding of the terms "pure" and "natural," the participants were asked to provide definitions of the two words, and classify various substances including drugs of abuse, pharmaceuticals, nutriceuticals, and household substances as either natural or not natural, and…

The end of this year is going to bring something that even veteran teachers have never experienced: the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law's "highly qualified teacher" deadline. NCLB's "highly qualified teacher" (HQT) provision is an attempt to put a well-prepared and capable teacher in every classroom. Most parents and teachers…

This paper illustrates ways to employ teacher portfolios to improve the quality of methods course experiences for prospective mathematics teachers. Based upon research conducted in an undergraduate teacher preparation program, this case study describes how the author used teacher portfolios to mentor prospective teachers in new ways. The case…

This article examines to what extent, if any, educational policy documents cite or support the inclusion of the social foundations of education (SFE) within teacher preparation when discussing how to enhance "teacher quality." A review of ten major educational policy reports over the last two years reveals an almost complete lack of attention to…