The purpose of this article is to present the self-study of a teacher educator who is concerned about cultural competence, socio-political consciousness, social justice, and peace in her preparation of teacher candidates. She recounts her experiences at the European Peace Institute (EPU) in Stadtschlaining, Austria, and how experiences with these students impact her perspective on teacher education in the United States. Sharing the voices from students at EPU provides a means of consciousness-raising for the teacher educator. She provides examples of ways to bring a more culturally competent and socio-political awareness to teacher education programs in the United States.
The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe middle level prepared teachers' perceptions of their practices after completing an Ohio Middle Childhood: Grades 4-9 teacher education program. Using the National Middle School Association/ National Council of Accreditation of Teacher Education Initial Level Teacher Preparation Standards (2001) as the organizing framework for the interview protocols, the researchers interviewed middle level teachers, their administrator, and their students. The researchers in this study wanted to explore the perceptions of teachers in their implementation and understandings of the middle school concept as articulated in the teacher education program, even if the middle level schools in which they were employed did not fully implement practices consistent with these middle level practices. The findings that emerged from these analyses provide insights for middle level teacher educators about how middle level teachers construct a philosophy arising out of middle level ideals and, therefore, how they implement their understandings with young adolescents.
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