| This study partially investigated a problem in teacher education of (1) the 20 to 50-year time lag in the implementation of research findings in the field, (2) the qualified survival of innovation projects in applied settings, and (3) the typical dissatisfaction of teachers with their training. Terming the problem a "communication gap" and basing the study on theory from Freidson (1970) and Mead (1938), hypotheses were formulated which predicted that individuals who worked in scholarly/scientific work settings would use a "truth-seeking" perspective as a mode of conceiving classroom teaching/learning situations while individuals who worked in clinical work settings would use a "firing-line" perspective to conceptualize the same events.;The data were analyzed by analysis of variance, tests of Least Significant Differences and a descriptive analysis. On the videotaped measure of perspectives, differences were found between work settings and also between all four work-setting related groups. On the written scenario measure of educators' perspectives, significant differences were found between knowledge producers, sample teachers and teaching professors. Therefore, it was concluded that the data partially support the hypotheses.;Based on the information gained in this study, theory concerning the role of clinical experiences as well as the role of university-based education in both pre-service and in-service teacher training might be developed. Description of the effective teachers' perspectives as well as teacher roles might find support. It is recommended that further investigations of the relationship between work settings and perspectives be pursued.;The methodology included a random sampling of forty subjects representing four work-setting related groups: (1) knowledge producers or educators in scholarly/scientific work settings whose work was expected to be oriented largely toward research, (2) teaching professors or educators in scholarly/scientific work settings whose work was expected to be oriented largely toward teaching, (3) outstanding teachers or educators teaching in clinical work settings (K through 6) who held Master's degrees or equivalent hours and who were pinpointed by their principals as outstanding teachers, and (4) sample teachers or a random sampling from the available population of educators teaching in clinical work settings (K through 6). Each subject was interviewed in a session utilizing three videotaped clips of classroom teaching/learning situations. Each subject also responded to six written scenarios of classroom activities. The subjects' responses were analyzed according to an Educators' Perspective Index. |
