This paper provides an overview of a portfolio-based teacher evaluation system at Auburn University (Alabama) designed to promote self-assessment, reflection, and professional growth of preservice teachers. This system was developed and implemented in response to a state mandate that all preservice teachers, prior to recommendation for state…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of knowledge preservice educators (N=83) have (prior to field placement) of the diverse functions of school psychological service delivery. Various aspects of the referral process, and the perceptions preservice educators hold on the importance of several functions of service delivery were of…

This digest provides examples of projects which can be used in the early childhood education (ECE) and child development classrooms to introduce students to Internet resources. The first section of the digest suggests guides that teacher educators can use to design Internet training sessions and to locate resources of interest to adults working…

A study investigated the test study habits of college students in the context of Effort Management theory, which describes metacognitive and self-regulatory activities. The subjects, 20 upper-division education majors enrolled in a required Educational Psychology course, were interviewed to discover their study activities for the course final at…

Teachers are being faced with increasingly complex ethical decisions. This study was conducted to identify and compare the levels of moral development and ethical decision-making processes of entry level teacher education students and exit level student teachers by examining their corresponding stages of moral development and the factors which…

Mentors working with students with teacher education portfolios often struggle with how much and what kind of direction to provide to scaffold students' reflections. An analysis of early childhood licensure students' conversations about portfolio making suggests a tri-part framework for the direction mentors offer. First, students ask for…

The doctoral thesis summarized in this document investigated which set of teacher education program admissions criteria best predict achievement by examining the relationship between outcomes in the teacher education program and test scores and other indicators of academic achievement. The particular problem was to determine the predictive value…

Results obtained using three methods for gathering attitude data were compared. The methods are ranking, paired comparisons, and the Likert-type scale. Three attitude objects, each consisting of five items, were selected or developed for this study. One set had been used with graduate students previously. Participants were 392 students in…

This study sought to determine Australian attitudes toward men working in the early childhood profession. Subjects were 100 first-year and 100 third-year female early childhood undergraduates and 22 practicing early childhood teachers and caregivers. Survey respondents were asked to describe how three imaginary early childhood teachers named Mary,…

This study examined the possibility that aspiring parents' and teachers' recalled experience with elementary school subjects affects their academic expectations for young children. The recalled experience of 103 university students majoring in education was measured by questions that asked: (1) how difficult and interesting each subject was for…

The strategies college students use to retain material that is low in meaningfulness were studied. Participants were 149 undergraduate teacher-training students in human development and learning classes. Students randomly received and were asked to memorize one of three 15-item lists: nonsense syllables, unrelated words, or related words. A brief…

Noting that many preservice teachers enter required courses believing that the course is something to endure or overcome for certification, a study examined whether a reading methods course would convince students to view teaching the reading process as a vital and necessary function of content area teachers. Six classes of students (three…

Research has indicated that numerous factors influence teaching performance, including nonacademic traits such as personality attributes, self-concept, commitment to teaching, and gender. This study compared the personality characteristics of elementary and secondary preservice teachers. Subjects were junior- and senior-level students (N=186) in…

This study examined the quality of students who continue in teacher education programs after completing the introductory courses. The purpose was to compare their academic proficiency with a group of students who had completed the same courses but did not continue on to teacher certification. Subjects were 74 graduates who went on to complete…

The School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh is discontinuing its undergraduate program in 1990 and will prepare only postbaccalaureate students as teachers beginning in 1990-91. The Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program had been developed as a one-year program for liberal arts graduates who want to become teachers. In this context,…