Perceptions of Cooperating Teachers and College Supervisors about the Principles Guiding a Teacher Preparation Program

Teacher preparation programs can advance the development of education by preparing distinguished graduate teachers who can work in schools, collaborate with colleagues and facilitate students learning. This paper aims to investigate cooperating teachers and college supervisors perceptions of a teacher preparation program in the College of Education at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) pertaining to NCATEs Blue Ribbon design principles for Clinical Preparation and Partnerships for Improved Student Learning. In this quantitative research, a random sample of 13 college supervisors and 95 cooperating teachers, who were involved in student teaching program, participated in the study and responded to a five-point scale questionnaire. The findings revealed significant differences between the perceptions of cooperating teachers and college supervisors towards the aptness of SQUs teacher preparation program in relation to the Blue Ribbons design principles. Based on these findings, recommendations and further studies are suggested to improve the contemporary status of the teacher education programs.