No abstract

A qualitative study of the impact of a schooluniversity partnership in which eight teacher candidates from a two-year graduate program were placed together in a poverty level middle school was conducted. Teacher candidates in this particular program receive a master's degree, as well as a teaching license in their content area and special education. Using primarily focus group interviews with school leaders, cooperating teachers in special education and content classrooms, and teacher candidates, we wanted to determine the influence of the partnership on all stakeholders. We read transcripts to identify themes and coded by those themes. Later, we tracked the frequency of responses for each theme. We also examined learning gains data for students on Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and English Language Learners (ELLs) in content rooms in which teacher candidates taught, as well as interviewed a small sampling of middle school students. We found overwhelming support for the partnership across all stakeholders. Most frequently stakeholders noted cooperating teachers' increased ability to meet the needs of students with learning differences in their inclusive classrooms. This research contributes to the literature on the impact of school-university partnerships and co-teaching and on teaching and learning.

No abstract

An abstract ofthe dissertation of Barbara Jo Ruben for the Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership: Curriculum and Instruction presented April 21, 2004. Title: Nurturing the Development of Teacher Change Agents Within a Teacher Education Programs The American education system has two daunting challenges. First, citizens need to be able to function in an interdependent world. Second, public schools' demographics have changed dramatically. Schools are failing to reach many students, particularly children of color and poverty. Schools must change to meet the needs of 21 st century students. Without teachers' openness to change, effective educational reform win fail. Schools of education must prepare the next generation of teachers to be change agents who will implement school reform to meet the significantly different requirements of 21 51 century students. This study examined how one graduate teacher education program prepared teachers to be teacher change agents. The construct of teacher change agent incorporates research on successful school reform. In order for teachers to function as