Making the Connection

Immigration, a cornerstone of Canada's development asa nation, has created a global community within our borders. This growth has altered the demographiclandscape of schools and teacher education. Inparticular, the number of new immigrants, many ofwhom are non-native Speakers of English (NNES),seeking certification through mainstream (K-12)teacher education programs and professional bodieshas increased. Until recently, these candidatescoped with the challenges of teacher educationwithout specialized guidance or support. Education researcher, Mira Gambhir, documentedthe experiences and needs of new immigrant and NNEScandidates in a pre-service program in Toronto. Usingqualitative research methodology, she describes inthis book the dynamic journeys of three candidates.The voices of these candidates, interwoven with thoseof their teacher educators and mentors, sheds lighton the challenges they faced. Based on thisresearch, Gambhir has developed recommendations thatare grounded in the belief that improving teachereducation rests in the hands of everyone involved inthe process, from the candidates themselves topolicymakers, administrators and educators.