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In teacher education programs, the conceptual framework identifies what is important for candidates. Using the three themes of a conceptual framework – knowledge of learners and learning, knowledge of content and pedagogy, and knowledge of research and policy – the authors analyzed teacher preparation program components in general and special education. They conclude that the critical question for teacher educators is: How do teacher educators consistently and successfully implement proven practices to prepare effective teachers? The authors posit recommendations for needed reforms in university-based teacher education and advocate for parity for teacher education with other socially valued enterprises.

This chapter investigates the impact of a teacher preparation program that includes specific attention to the needs of bilingual learners on participants’ subsequent teaching practices. Specifically, this mixed methods retrospective study examines graduates’ reports of their current teaching practices as well as their perceptions of the Teaching English Language Learners (TELL) program’s impact on these practices. Multiple-choice survey data were analyzed quantitatively to identify trends among reported practices and perceptions. Open-ended survey and interview data were analyzed qualitatively to identify interrelated themes within teachers’ detailed, first-hand accounts of their pre-service and in-service experiences. The results showed that there was variety with respect to whether particular linguistically responsive practices were routine, used occasionally, or rarely. There was also a difference with respect to whether such practices were perceived to be the result of having participated in the program. Notably, the most frequently used practices attributed to the TELL program involved teaching language (TL) to facilitate content learning. Other aspects of the teacher preparation program supported effective practices for academic content learning, but only TELL coursework and experiences facilitated practices that emphasized academic language development. These results suggest that programs created to improve the preparation of teachers to work with bilingual learners in mainstream classroom contexts must make a special effort to develop teachers’ skills in regard to language teaching, especially practices that focus on language beyond the word-level. There are limitations to the study because of the small number of participants and the fact that they were self-selected as program participants.

This chapter examines in-service teachers’ transformed perspectives and practices for educating emergent bilinguals resulting from graduate study in a bilingual education graduate program in Chicago. This examination is contextualized in consideration of emergent bilinguals relative to the changing face of P-12 classrooms and gaps in teacher education. Findings from autoethnographic and discourse analytic inquiry suggest that teacher preparation in bilingual education (1) prepared and empowered in-service teachers to meet the academic, social, and cultural-linguistic needs of emergent bilinguals in their classrooms and (2) fostered a conscious inner transformation in in-service teachers that resulted in new ways and purposes of interacting with emergent bilingual students, their families, and colleagues. Findings also suggest that although there is institutional progress in meeting emergent bilinguals’ needs, it is incremental and insufficient. There are three major deficiencies: (1) new and increased teacher education standards lack the required specialized coursework in the education of emergent bilinguals; (2) teacher preparation of emergent bilinguals is inadequate; and (3) teacher preparation programs resist requiring specialized coursework in teaching emergent bilinguals.

Teacher educators in rural settings where few English learners (ELs) may be enrolled in PK-12 schools are responsible for creating learning experiences that support preservice teachers in building a foundation for teaching culturally and linguistically diverse learners. The goal of the self-study described in this chapter was to investigate a teacher educator’s practice in a largely White, English-speaking rural area in the northeastern US. Learning experiences embedded in the one required course for preparing to teach ELs were grounded in extant research. This chapter highlights one unique experience in which the preservice teachers interacted with international ESL peers on campus to negotiate meaning of a complex text. The preservice teachers reported that this interaction led to analogous understandings for planning and implementing literacy instruction with ELs. These results may be useful to other teacher educators in rural areas who seek principled ways to strengthen preservice teachers’ preparedness for teaching ELs.

This chapter examines best practice and burgeoning needs within general and special education teacher preparation programs as identified within the literature and as evidenced in recent research (Cavendish, Harry, Menda, Espinosa, & Mahotiere, 2012) that examined the beliefs and practices of current educators teaching within schools utilizing a response to intervention (RtI) model. Specifically, our discussion of the emerging needs in teacher preparation programs that prepare both general and special education teachers for assessment, instructional delivery, and progress monitoring within an RtI framework is informed by a 3-year research project of the initial implementation of an RtI model in a diverse, urban school district. Implications for practice include the need to: (a) address deficit perspectives of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students and youth with disabilities, (b) address changing perceptions of the function of special education, and (c) communicate the need for greater collaboration across silos within teacher preparation programs.

The chapter will address comparative teacher preparation programs for teachers who wish to teach in inclusive settings, including those in the United States and People’s Republic of China. Consideration will be given to developing course objectives and outcomes for teacher preparation programs through the alignment of teacher standards and content standards. Further, discussion will review assessing pre-service teacher candidates for inclusive settings. It will conclude with recommendations for inclusive teacher preparation programs.

This chapter provides a brief overview of the inclusive education movement as related to educator preparation. External influences that have driven the push for more blended educational training for all educators, regardless of discipline, are discussed, and recommended practices for inclusive educator preparation programs are provided. In addition, systemic approaches to inclusive education and high impact practices from both the general education and special education disciplines are highlighted.

This paper aims to develop precise statements (standards) to describe the knowledge and skills that should be possessed by Islamic education (IE) teacher candidates who receive their initial preparation in various international higher-education institutions. These statements must be compatible with the requirements and guidelines for building specialized standards set by the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), so that they can be used for accreditation and improving quality.

Two panels of IE experts participated in developing and validating the standards, using a combination of Delphi and content validity methods. Alongside this research activity, management activity ensured that the process ran smoothly, as the researcher coordinated panels, allocated resources and tracked progress during standard development.

Twenty-six components divided into five standards were developed into a final list based on the panels.

This study provides standards for the preparation of IE teachers in higher-education institutions that can be applied in different countries and geographical regions. Furthermore, it aims to make the subject of IE more comparable with other academic disciplines, and appropriate for CAEP accreditation.

The essentiality of family involvement in the schooling process is evident from the vast directives embedded within federal mandates, professional standards for teachers and administrators, parent organizations, and advocacy groups. Yet, as explicit as legislative mandates and professional standards are regarding parental rights and involvement, they do not require definitive roles of the family. Several factors influence the lack of a decisive definition regarding the role of the family in the schooling process. Those include the different perspectives on what constitutes a family structurally and functionally, the socio-cultural and political diversity within and among populations, the move to an inclusive education framework, the various terms used to describe parental involvement, the realization that no one family model fits the demographic diversity existing in today’s school districts, and the rights of family members to select their level of involvement. Given the importance of family engagement and student outcomes, three fundamental questions addressed in this chapter are, “How can inclusive schools enhance productive collaborative family engagement networks?” “How can the family be empowered to voluntarily participate within those networks?” and “How can inclusive schools connect with teacher preparation programs to promote the competency of educators for those collaborative family/school engagement networks?” In this chapter we delineate an interactive triad conceptual model with the school as the “connecting agent” to build relationships with families and teacher preparation, setting the stage for productive family engagement as partners in inclusive settings.

Teacher education in Kenya was formally started in mid-nineteenth century by European Christian missionaries. The urge to establish teacher education programs at the time was to address the shortage of teachers due to the unplanned and rapid expansion of schools. The need to produce schoolteachers was also to relieve missionaries who were required to concentrate on evangelization. At their inception, teacher education programs were patterned on Western European and Canadian established teacher education models of the early nineteenth century. The education (preparation) of teachers in Kenya has over time undergone massive reforms including in structure and scope. This chapter presents both reports and analyses of the trends in the teacher education reforms to date. Also included in the chapter are recommendations/debates on more reforms/changes needed to enable teacher education programs to equip teachers for effective practice in the twenty-first century including the successful implementation of the Competency Based Curriculum in Kenyan schools.