Secondary Teacher Candidates Research Articles

¿Qué pensamiento profesional y curricular tienen los futuros profesores de ciencias de secundaria?

This article is a part of a wider research on secondary science teachers’ beliefs. Through the use of a questionnaire data were obtained from 211 secondary science teacher candidates. Analyses of data are discussed in terms of their implication in science teacher education.

Gender differences in self-confidence and educational beliefs among secondary teacher candidates

This longitudinal study examined gender differences among secondary teacher candidates across three categories of criterion measures: (a) levels of self-confidence in teaching, (b) anticipated sources of professional knowledge, and (c) educational orientations and beliefs. Relative to males, females entered teacher preparation programs with lower levels of confidence in themselves as teachers and higher expectations for what they would gain from education courses and practical experiences related to teaching. Females were also more likely to favor student-centered approaches to instruction and to believe that instructional strategies have limited generalizability. These differences in self-confidence and educational beliefs persisted to program completion.

The Mathematical Understandings That Prospective Teachers Bring to Teacher Education

This article focuses on the subject matter knowledge of preservice elementary and secondary mathematics teachers. In order to examine what teacher candidates understand about mathematics as they enter formal teacher education, results from questionnaires and interviews with 252 prospective teachers participating in a large study of teacher education are discussed. The results reveal the mathematical understandings that these elementary and secondary teacher candidates brought with them to teacher education from their precollege and college mathematics experiences, understandings that tended to be rule-bound and thin. Based on these data, the article challenges 3 common assumptions about learning to teach elementary or secondary mathematics: (1) that traditional school mathematics content is not difficult, (2) that precollege education provides teachers with much of what they need to know about mathematics, and (3) that majoring in mathematics ensures subject matter knowledge. These assumptions underlie current teacher education practices as well as proposals to reform the preparation of teachers.

Differences in Entry Characteristics of Elementary and Secondary Teacher Candidates

Comparisons of entry-level elementary and secondary educa tion majors at a large midwestern university revealed important differences in academic backgrounds, prior teaching experi ences, career plans, and professional expectations. The findings of the Book and Freeman study have clear implications for teacher education coursework and should be useful in making program development decisions.

Faculty Meeting: A Simulation for Secondary Teacher Candidates

Faculty Meeting: A Simulation for Secondary Teacher Candidates