Making the Connection

Immigration, a cornerstone of Canada's development as§a nation, has created a global community within our §borders. This growth has altered the demographic§landscape of schools and teacher education. In§particular, the number of new immigrants, many of§whom are non-native Speakers of English (NNES),§seeking certification through mainstream (K-12)§teacher education programs and professional bodies§has increased. Until recently, these candidates§coped with the challenges of teacher education§without specialized guidance or support.§ Education researcher, Mira Gambhir, documented§the experiences and needs of new immigrant and NNES§candidates in a pre-service program in Toronto. Using§qualitative research methodology, she describes in§this book the dynamic journeys of three candidates.§The voices of these candidates, interwoven with those§of their teacher educators and mentors, sheds light§on the challenges they faced. Based on this§research, Gambhir has developed recommendations that§are grounded in the belief that improving teacher§education rests in the hands of everyone involved in§the process, from the candidates themselves to§policymakers, administrators and educators.