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The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for conceptualizing three dispositional‐related stages that educators may experience in their professional careers and address the implications of these stages for integrating moral literacy perspectives into initial and advanced teacher and leader certification programs.

The dispositional conceptual framework is presented and discussed from the author's viewpoint. The contention is that there is at least some general consistency that teacher and leader program candidates, at various stages of their professional careers, may experience and reflect in the attitudes – a component of dispositions – that they bring to the university classroom learning environment.

Observations and insights about the consistency of dispositions within each of three program candidate groups are discussed. The dispositions emerged as: attitude formation; attitude adjustment; and attitude alignment. Within the context of course development and through that process of course delivery, the author describes how an understanding of candidates' attitudinal stages informed decisions about course content and instructional strategies to facilitate an ethos of values inquiry and reflection.

The framework may be useful to professors of education interested in integrating values inquiry and moral agency into their teaching.

An investigation of how secondary history teacher education candidates implemented research-based instructional practices for instruction is described as a model of pre-service teacher preparation for social studies teachers. Cohorts of candidates participated in a five-year project while enrolled in a discipline-specific capstone senior methods course and subsequent student teaching experiences. Candidates were surveyed and interviewed concerning their use of, and feelings about, twelve instructional strategies developed with a focus on authentic history pedagogy. Surveys were administered three times: before the secondary social studies methods course, after the methods course, and after student teaching. A variation on the Concerns-Based Adoption Model was used to measure the levels of use and stages of concern of the candidates. Artifacts of practice, including lesson plans from a model unit plan and actual student teaching, also were analyzed to document use of the strategies. Results indicate an increasingly high level of implementation of and comfort with the strategies, as well as the developmental nature of the process. Implications and recommendations for pre-service activities in history teacher education are presented.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze teacher candidates’ implied assumptions, attitudes, and concerns about occasional teaching. Data were gathered from 100 teacher candidates over the course of three academic years. Each of the participants posed two questions at the beginning of an online occasional teaching course that they would like to be answered by the end of the course. An awareness of teacher candidates’ questions will be useful in the process of improving pre-service teacher preparation and professional development in occasional teaching.

On the first day of the course, the teacher candidates were asked to reflect upon their first practicum experience and post these reflections to the Sakai discussion forums board. As a follow-up to this introductory activity, the author then invited the teacher candidates to compose and share two (open-ended) questions they would like addressed in this occasional teaching course. These questions were submitted and retained by the author for the duration of the course. The author referred to these teacher candidates’ questions over the term of the course to ensure that the teacher candidates’ queries were being addressed and their misconceptions were being challenged. Over the course of this study, the 100 teacher candidate participants (n=100) each offered two questions for a total of 200 questions. However, not all questions were unique. The study design employed the use of qualitative and quantitative methods. The participants’ questions were transcribed, organized, coded and categorized. Data were initially bracketed into meaning units, coded for relevant categories, refined and related to enable the development of encompassing themes. Each question was coded only once based on the central issue or premise of the question. Frequency distributions and percentages of common responses were also derived from participant responses.

Findings suggest that teacher candidates are most concerned with classroom management, curriculum and instruction, getting hired as an occasional or long-term occasional teacher, administrators’ and classroom teachers’ expectations of occasional teachers, legal aspects of occasional teaching, and working with special populations.

Due to attrition, the final number of respondents was 100. It can be argued that the group of students who withdrew from the occasional teaching course may have had different perceptions, concerns, and questions from those who completed the study. More research should be conducted on occasional teaching. Such research may help the author to improve the situation for students, teachers, administrators, teacher candidates, and occasional teachers. Conducting a longitudinal study with the same students would also be useful to identify whether or not they were satisfied with the amount of preparation they had during their pre-service teacher training.

A critical beginning for teacher educators is to capture the initial questions and conceptions that their teacher candidates possess on entry into pre-service education programmes. Teacher education programmes should begin considering courses that will help pre-service teachers reconstruct and modify their preconceived perceptions about occasional teaching, in hopes that it will promote professional growth and development. Faculties and boards of education should consider creating a “How-To” resource manual that is aligned with the Standards of Practice for the Teaching Profession, and designed for newly hired occasional teachers, regular classroom teachers, administrators, and teacher candidates. This manual could include case studies accompanied by a series of thought-provoking questions and real-world guidance from the “experts in the field” which will prove helpful when teacher candidates are preparing for their interviews.

Occasional teaching is the route into the profession for the majority of Ontario’s new graduates. This gradual and increasingly extended process toward full entry to the profession results in more competition each year for the next group of first-year teachers and greater reliance on occasional teaching. Despite these findings, few teacher education programmes in Ontario, Canada offer courses, workshops, or training to help prepare their teacher candidates for occasional teaching as their possible point of entry into the teaching profession. This lack of preparation is a major concern for the teaching profession as a whole. To fully address these concerns, occasional teacher training must be provided for all teacher candidates. Faculties and boards of education need to develop a well-qualified, highly skilled occasional teacher who through training becomes a well-developed specialist at teaching at one school today, in another tomorrow, and in still another the day after tomorrow. Occasional teaching training courses and programmes must provide prospective occasional teachers with the skills they need to enter any classroom and provide a positive learning atmosphere. This applied research will inform efforts to improving pre-service teacher preparation and professional development in occasional teaching.

This study of 65 elementary school teacher candidates enrolled in social studies methods classes examined attitudes toward currently contentious curriculum issues before and after participation in a practicum experience teaching an arts-integrated unit on Africa. These curriculum issues included arts-integrated project-based learning versus narrower skill-based lessons; the importance of creativity, leadership, organizational, and affective skills; and student-centered versus teacher-centered instruction. Attitudes were measured by teacher candidates placing themselves on each of ten continuums between endpoints representing opposing curriculum approaches and responding to open-ended questions. Statistically significant pre-post differences with medium effect sizes occurred on three of the continuums indicating that teacher candidates now placed greater value on arts-integrated curricula to teach social studies content; recognized that choice motivates students; and expressed more enjoyment of planning complex, long-term, student-centered projects. They recognized deep conceptual learning and engagement of elementary school students during the student-centered arts-integrated lessons but noted that the time and effort of complex project work were barriers to implementation. Social studies methods teachers need to involve teacher candidates in field experiences that offer authentic arts- integrated student-centered project work to allow them to adopt curriculum stances not experienced as elementary school students.

Professional dispositions must be cultivated through focused self-reflection and targeted, authentic, internship experiences prior to entering the teaching profession. Continued development through mentoring during the clinical internship can enhance the effectiveness of pre-service teacher candidates as instructional leaders. The purpose of this paper is to explore the unique experiences found to be successful in mentoring pre-service teachers from student to professional during an authentic, yearlong internship experience.

Intern participants in this pilot study completed an inventory that measured professional dispositions five times during an internship experience. Data were analyzed using a mixed methods study design.

Results of the study determined that intern participants held unrealistic views of teaching and did not recognize the importance of dispositional development prior to focused mentoring throughout the year of clinical internship. One central finding in this study is that change and growth about perceptions of professional dispositions can be developed through focused mentoring.

Mentoring within the teacher preparation program can help in the transition of understanding professional growth and development, attitudes, and the view of complex behaviors. The dispositions necessary for effective teaching can be honed through cultural and clinical experiences, continual self-reflection, constructive feedback on evaluations of teaching, and targeted mentoring before beginning the clinical student internship and throughout the experience.

A shift from a medical model to a social model of including learners with disabilities has occurred over the past 25 years (Stella, Forlin, & Lan, 2007). This shift has impacted both preservice teacher preparation and in-service teacher professional development. This chapter utilizes a conceptual framework built on the work of Forlin and colleagues (Forlin, Loreman, Sharma, & Earle, 2009; Sharma, Forlin, Loreman, & Earle, 2006; Stella et al., 2007) to guide teacher preparation and professional development. This conceptual framework provides a model for (1) addressing attitudes and perceptions; (2) increasing knowledge of disability policies, laws, and evidence-based practices for providing instruction in inclusive settings; (3) and increasing experiences with individuals with disabilities, including experiences within inclusive settings. In addition, the framework incorporates aspects of the context within which inclusion is to occur. Implications include recommendations for teacher training and professional development to improve inclusive education for learners with LID.

The purpose of this paper is to empower teacher candidates to integrate technology into classroom learning. The participating teacher candidates were provided with tools – iPads and software applications to enhance their ability to better meet the needs of all K-2 students. Teacher candidates had the opportunity to explore the range of pedagogical strategies the iPad facilitated through lesson planning and instructional practice. In addition, this research study found that when teacher candidates are given individualized training on the iPad, they have greater comfort with integrating it into their daily practice.

This study employed a case study approach, using both quantitative and qualitative measures. Quantitative methods included the use of two surveys to better understand how teachers have been trained on educational technology. The qualitative analysis explored how teacher candidates utilized the iPad to better meet K-2 student learning outcomes through focus group interviews.

Findings from this study suggest the need for embedded technology integration – through current graduate pedagogical coursework to better prepare K-2 teachers. Teacher candidates require time and regular practice to develop skills and understanding of how best to integrate iPad technology into their teaching. Redesigning a methodology course whereby candidates are developing a deeper understanding of pedagogy, while embedding technology into practice offers students this much needed opportunity. The findings from this study also indicate that, with appropriate training, teacher candidates have the ability to effectively integrate iPad technology into lessons which benefit student learning.

Researchers should be asking whether teacher preparation programs are effectively training teachers for the twenty-first century classroom. This research explores this question and suggests ways to improve current programs to better prepare candidates to meet the variety of learning needs in today’s classrooms. Although the study was small in scale it has broader implications for teacher education programs.

Addressing the diversity of students’ learning needs present in today’s classrooms is a common goal for all teachers. As evidenced through the findings, having the ability to access a variety of learning resources, in particular, iPads, will help teacher candidates better achieve this goal. This research demonstrated how teacher candidates used the iPad to support differentiated instruction in K-2 classrooms.

A one size fits all approach to learning does not work and teachers need to have access to every available resource, including iPad technology, to individualize learning. Findings from this study recommend providing teacher candidates with multiple opportunities to practice utilizing the iPad as a means to adapt, modify, and differentiate instruction to meet the variety of learning needs in K-2 classrooms.

It is important to note that while iPad integration throughout K-2 classrooms is on the rise, there is still limited research in how this technology is actually being used by teachers. This study explored how eight teacher candidates implemented the iPad as a technology tool within K-2 inclusive classrooms.

The study aims to present a logic map linking the Professional Development School (PDS) Nine Essentials as a PDS theory of action and offer an analysis of dissertations that compare outcomes of learning in PDS and non-PDS contexts.

For this current study, the authors identified 25 of the 210 dissertations from a larger study that used a comparison methodology to provide a window into how learning in PDS and non-PDS settings may differ. In reviewing these comparison studies, the authors identified a set of clustered themes, as well as a variety of comparison constructs and measurements researchers used to determine the impact of PDS.

Five themes emerged including (1) the experience of learning to teach in a PDS setting vs. a non-PDS; (2) the experience of teaching in a PDS vs. non-PDS; (3) teacher candidate quality in a PDS vs. non-PDS; (4) teacher quality in a PDS vs. non-PDS; (5) school leader quality in a PDS vs. non-PDS; and (6) K-12 student learning in PDS vs. non-PDS.

Limitations of this study include the complications related to comparison, logic-related fallacies and the complexity of capturing simultaneous renewal.

In the 30th year of PDS work, the study utilizes a theory of action comprised of linking the PDS Nine Essentials to situate the comparison dissertation analysis of outcomes in PDS and non-PDS contexts suggesting challenges and possibilities and perhaps a direction for new research questions.

Purpose – The purpose of this chapter is to define and explain a curriculum of parents, its purpose and importance as an addition to teacher education curriculum, and how the author lives out this curriculum alongside teacher candidates.

Approach – The chapter gives an account of the author's narrative inquiry into the lived experiences of two teacher candidates who were engaged in a curriculum of parents.

Findings – The chapter highlights how the teacher candidates’ acceptance of dominant notions of parents as outsiders to the processes of schooling or as individuals to be wary or fearful of was interrupted by their experiences within a curriculum of parents. An account is given of their dis/positioning as they came to “un-know” their understandings of professional as someone with power and control and to reknow it as an act of standing together with parents; as a reflection of the “person to person.”

Research implications – This initial narrative inquiry makes visible how intentionally making and living out a curriculum of parents alongside teacher candidates impacts their beliefs and assumptions about parents and the way in which they position themselves as teachers in their work with parents and families.

Value – The value of the chapter is that it is the first work that has detailed a curriculum of parents. The chapter shows the major contributions such a curriculum can add to teacher education programs – as it moves the curricular commonplace of milieu from a subordinated position in relation to the other commonplaces of student, teacher, and subject matter to one of coordination.

The Persona Doll Project describes an experiential intervention with undergraduate preservice teachers designed to increase awareness about diversity and apply this awareness to curriculum planning and advocacy for children. Sixty-three undergraduate students in a social studies methods class were each assigned a persona doll for the semester whose background differed from their own. Each was charged with becoming the advocate for the child, represented by the doll, by telling informed stories that would help other students better understand a level of diversity beyond what they knew from their own lives. Students heightened awareness of their own assumptions through narrative, inquiry and reflection and used that knowledge to critically analyze teaching practices that promote inclusion or exclusion. Students reported increased confidence for working in diverse communities. One goal of teacher education programs is to prepare teachers to work with students from racial/cultural/linguistic backgrounds other than their own. This article provides one example of how to address this important goal.