What constitutes accountability in teacher education? This article reviews research on elements of teacher preparation program quality and argues that professional standards can leverage greater quality if they are incorporated into professional policies governing accreditation and licensure that encourage schools of education to adopt the…

This research shows how two teacher educators, one from Canada and one from the United States, have attempted to imbue their preservice and graduate education practices with a sense of social justice, despite the downgrading of the importance of social justice by accreditation agencies such as National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher…

For accreditation and programmatic decision making, education school administrators use inter-rater reliability analyses to judge credibility of student-teacher assessments. Although weak levels of agreement between university-appointed supervisors and cooperating teachers are usually interpreted to indicate that the process is not being…

The belief that teachers are professionals has become so pervasive during the past one third century that it is increasingly viewed as a fact. This article reviews the 13 characteristics of a profession advanced by sociologists of occupations, and it provides evidence that teachers fall far short of achieving them. However, it is noteworthy that…

Owing to national emphasis on accountability, teacher education programs are under close scrutiny by federal and state-level entities to justify their purpose and usefulness in preparing future teachers. Accrediting agencies have set high standards, which ask for systematic assessment of teacher education programs and their candidates. The purpose…

This response to Myers's concept of the teacher as a service professional considers each of his positions in analogy form. With support from the literature from education and elsewhere, the article maintains that teaching is a profession and that it matters greatly to teachers and society that it be strengthened as such. Examples are offered…

An analogy is made between methods of accreditation and certification in the field of education and the fields of law and medicine. (JD)

The standards of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education require that teacher education programs document teacher candidates' effectiveness across different domains. Most challenging for our program is the directive to document the impact that candidates have on preK-12 student learning. To gather information on the effects…

A sample of varied materials on accreditation and certification is presented. (JD)

The increasing number of states requiring periodic renewal of teacher certification has intensified the need for setting standards and systematic review. Because recertification is not accomplished within the context of a program, the criteria used are solely those of the state education agency. Quality assurance mechanisms are needed. (MT)

The validity of the standards by which the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education makes decisions is examined. (JD)

The conflict between the policies and procedures of research-oriented universities and the requirements of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) are presented. Results of a survey of 94 teacher education institutions to assess opinions on the importance of accreditation are discussed. (MT)

The processes and purposes of accreditation are described, and the activities of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education are discussed. (JD)

Works are reviewed from five categories of literature about accreditation: (1) accreditation (general); (2) accreditation in teacher education; (3) accreditation/certification; (4) approval; and (5) certification. (CB)

This article explores the relationship between research-oriented schools of education and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) from a perspective of effects of state control of teacher education. (MT)