Characteristics of School-Based Teacher Educators 1 WHAT THE TEACHING PERSPECTIVES OF COOPERATING TEACHERS TELL US ABOUT THEIR ADVISORY PRACTICES

This study drew upon the recently developed Teaching Perspectives Inventory (TPI) to compare and contrast the teaching perspectives of cooperating teachers against a range of demographic data specific to cooperating teachers. The outcomes indicate, among other things, that a high percentage of cooperating teachers base their pedagogical relationship with learners upon a Nurturing perspective, that a Social Reform perspective among cooperating teachers is almost non-existent, and that a Transmission perspective is more prominent at the secondary school level than at other school levels. Collectively, the insights from this study provide one of the most comprehensive surveys of a single cohort of cooperating teachers reported in the literature. Characteristics of School-Based Teacher Educators 3 WHAT THE TEACHING PERSPECTIVES OF COOPERATING TEACHERS TELL US ABOUT THEIR ADVISORY PRACTICES The practicum setting and the work of cooperating teachers have long been regarded by student teachers as the two most important elements of their professional programs in Education (Blakey, Everett-Turner, Massing, & Scott, 1988; Wideen, Holborn, & Desrosiers, 1987). Understanding the complexities of that learning environment, particularly what gives meaning and structure to the work of cooperating teachers as they engage in pedagogical relationships with student teachers is essential for providing exemplary practicum settings. While much has been written for and about cooperating teachers—for example, Zimpher and Howey (1987) commend the attention directed at specific advisory approaches and training practices—there are repeated calls for more extensive research in this area (Knowles & Cole, 1996; Wideen, MayerSmith, and Moon, 1998; Zeichner, 1992) While there has been a concerted effort to explore 'training' programs to facilitate the work of cooperating teachers (e.g., Glickman & Bey, 1990; Marvin & Beasley, 1996; Metcalf, 1991) and several publications on improving supervisory practices (e.g., Acheson & Gall, 1997; Marvin & Beasley, 1996, Wiles & Bondi, 1996), substantive consideration of cooperating teachers' work contexts and the influence of their teaching perspectives on supervisory practices are conspicuous by their absence. These issues, first raised by Zeichner & Liston (1987) and recently taken up by Williams (1995) and Knowles and Cole (1996), are beginning to feature in arguments for research that seeks in-depth understandings of the pedagogical relationship constructed between cooperating teachers and student teachers. An important element in Characteristics of School-Based Teacher Educators 4 understanding how cooperating teachers construct pedagogical relationships with student teachers is understanding the teaching perspectives that guide their practice as educators. Exploring the teaching perspectives of cooperating teachers and the significance of these perspectives in their work with student teachers is the focus of this paper. Teaching Perspectives and Supervisory Practices The beliefs, actions, motivations, and intentions in relation to the manner in which one conceives the context of learning is known as a teaching perspective (Pratt & Associates, 1998). Teaching perspectives give shape and meaning to educational practices including supervisory practices. The way in which we plan instruction, the manner in which we engage students, the elicitation strategies we employ, our consideration of the social milieu in which learning takes place, the assessment strategies we draw upon, etc., reveal our understanding of what constitutes knowledge, and our sense of the relationship between the knower and the known. Therefore, teaching perspectives are important in any exploration of pedagogical practices that cooperating teachers employ in their interactions with student teachers. Many researchers have attempted to conceptually define and empirically document different perspectives on teaching (Chan, 1994; Feiman-Nemser, 1990; Stofflett and Stoddart, 1994). Their efforts have resulted in considerable agreement between and among the various attributes. For this study we chose the work of Pratt and Collins (1992, 1998) who drew heavily on this intellectual heritage in developing a contemporary and easily self-administered instrument called the Teaching Perspectives Inventory (TPI). This inventory has special appeal because of its broad applicability to a range of teacher education contexts. Further, we believe that its use in this study and the types of results it generates are beneficial for readers who are Characteristics of School-Based Teacher Educators 5 seeking ways to develop more comprehensive understandings of cooperating teachers with whom they work. A quick appreciation of the inventory can be gained by taking it online at 'www.teachingperspectives.com.' Finally, we believe that the TPI provides a more substantive rendering of supervisory practices than some earlier instruments, for example the directive, collaborative, and non-collaborative classifications provided by Glickman's Supervisory Belief Index (Glickman, 1985). The TPI differentiates between five perspectives on teaching: Transmission, Developmental, Apprenticeship, Nurturing, and Social Reform. The development and use of the TPI has undergone rigorous testing with a wide range of practitioners, educators, and student teachers (Pratt, Collins, and Jarvis-Selinger, 2001). Pratt and Associates (1998) articulate each perspective from a normative frame, allowing the reader to appreciate the strengths of good teaching practice that is represented within each perspectives. This rendering allows sufficient distinction between the perspectives and avoids an overly atomistic or excessively expansive representation of each. It is important not to confuse teaching perspectives with teaching styles or teaching techniques. Teaching perspectives encompass more than a repertoire of behaviours and teaching actions (Pratt & Collins, 2000). Each perspective incorporates fundamental beliefs about teaching and learning, instructional intentions within teaching contexts, and actions in situ (Author B, 2002). No perspective is either good or bad, and excellent or poor forms of teaching can occur regardless of the perspective(s) that shape one's practice (Pratt, Arseneau, & Collins,