Teaching as a Clinical Practice Profession: Research on Clinical Practice and Experience in Teacher Preparation

Teaching as a Clinical Practice Profession: Research on Clinical Practice and Experience in Teacher Preparation introduces the reader to a collection of thoughtful research-based works by authors that represent current clinical-based teacher preparation programs. What we know is that excellent teaching is a clinical skill and that exemplary teacher education provides for clinical education in a clinical setting. Important to teacher preparation, as a clinical practice profession, is a realization that strong clinical preparation of teachers is a key factor in their students’ success. Chapter One opens the book with a focus on teaching as a clinical practice profession, providing the reader with an introduction to the book and an understanding of the growing importance of clinical practice in teacher preparation. The authors of Chapters Two–Ten present field-based research that examines the important role of clinical practice in teacher preparation. Each chapter offers the reader an examination of clinical practice and field-based experience in teacher preparation based on formal research that provides the reader with insight into how the research study was conducted, and equally important, the findings and conclusions drawn with respect to clinical practice and teacher preparation. Finally, Chapter Eleven presents an epilogue that focuses on the future of clinical practice and its growing importance in teacher preparation.