ABSTRACT
High-quality clinical practice is an integral component of effective teacher preparation. It is these learning experiences that support teacher candidates in developing the knowledge, skills, understandings, and professional dispositions necessary to positively impact the learning and development of P-12 students. Clinical practice can best be understood by examining a number of its defining characteristics, its contextual elements, which include intentional partnership and preparing mentor teachers, and the overall impact of this experience for teacher candidates. While there is certainly a great deal of diversity among universities and colleges in the United States that offer teacher preparation programmes, it is safe to assert that the majority of candidates enrolled in these programmes experience some form of clinical practice.
