Pre-student teaching field experiences are held to be desirable in the preparation of teachers. To illustrate this position, the Commission on Education for the Profession of Teaching (AACTE, 1976) endorsed a field-oriented approach to teacher education. Similarly, spokespersons for competency-based education (Elam, 1971;Houston, 1974) and teacher centers (Andrews, 1980; Devaney, 1976;Edelfelt, 1972) have accepted a field-based approach for the preparation of teachers. The rationale for placing emphasis on early field experiences is associated with teacher educators' desire to make their programs more realistic, practical and stimulating. Logically, field experiences can fulfill these qualities, thereby enhancing the perceived overall effectiveness of a teacher preparation program.Research addressing the influence of pre-student teaching field experiences in the preparation of teachers is limited. Those studies which have been reported often contain results which do not lend empirical support for endorsing early field experiences. For example, Ingle and Robinson (1965) reported no difference in achievement between students observing learners and control students who did not participate in an observation experience. Subsequently, Ingle and Zaret (1968) addressed the issue whether the degree of involvement in a field experience influences course achievement. They reported students who served as tutors for learners performed at the same level on a final examination in an educational psychology course as students who had served only as observers. Expanding on these efforts, Hedberg (1979) sought to determine the effects of a field experience which included tutoring, directing small group instruction, and developing learning stations on achievement in educational psychology coursework. He reported no difference in performance on a final course examination among field experience students and control students who attended class but did not participate in a field experience. Examining perceptions of students regarding their preparation, Marso (1971) found students who had participated in a field experience thought they were more prepared than their counterparts who had not participated in a field experience. Similarly, Benton and Osborn (1979) found that attitudes of teaching candidates, measured by the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory (MTAI), were positively influenced by an early field experience. Scherer (1979) and Sunal (1980) have sought to determine long term effects of early field experiences on subsequent experiences in the preparation of teachers.Scherer (1979) found that student teachers who had completed early field experiences were not rated higher in Denton is Professor of Education in Educational Curriculum and Instruction at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. teaching skills than their counterparts who had not completed a similar experience. She did find, however, that self-concepts as measured by the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale (TSCS) were higher for those candidates who had completed ea...

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This investigation was conducted to determine the degree to which 492 high school seniors in Texas attained five earth science concepts. The study examined the influence of school type and years of science background on the attainment of these concepts. A concept attainment instrument was developed, validated and administered to the seniors sampled in this investigation. The results of this investigation indicated that the enrollment of the school attended by the senior affected whether the concepts were attained, with students in suburban high schools (AAA) attaining more concepts than seniors from small rural high schools (A). I n addition, students with more than two years of science coursework attained significantly higher scores on the concept instrument.