The issue of how to produce high quality teachers is an ongoing concern for teacher educators worldwide. Research studies consistently conclude that despite the best efforts of teacher educators to provide programs that equip new teachers well for their work in schools, many new teachers find it difficult to enact what they have learned in…

Analyzes reasons given for the failure of the competency-based teacher education program at Illinois State University and describes a successful program at San Diego State University. (IRT)

Competency-based staff development is an approach to instructor preparation in which the teacher must demonstrate essential tasks in an actual teaching situation. (JOW)

The article discusses the need for new and different programmatic alternatives to train competent teachers in the future. The relationships between learning disabilities, competency based teacher education programs, and hierarchical theories of human development are explored and preliminary suggestions are offered in hopes of producing alternative…

Describes the teacher assurance program of Eastern Washington University, which benefits the department of education in the areas of credibility, student marketability, accountability, and program feedback. (FL)

Discusses implications of attempts to specify teacher competencies. Points out that proponents of competency-based programs for teachers belong to the behavioral school of thought, whereas critics of behaviorism are often labeled humanists. (Author/KC)

Presents a discussion of frequently stated strengths and weaknesses of performance-based teacher education (PBTE). The author suggests that PBTE has both strong points and weak points and that the key is to integrate the strong points into traditional teacher education programs. (LRA)

Provides a brief overview of the Child Development Associate (CDA) program on the occasion of the award of the ten-thousandth CDA credential. (RH)

The authors express their concerns about the research methodology and assumptions in Coker, Medley, and Soar's work on competency-based teacher education. (WD)

Because the institution of performance-based teacher education and certification (PBTE) affects the allocation of resources for teacher education and certification, the movement has become highly political. The political contenders in the struggle to institute PBTE include teachers, administrators, university educators, federal governments, state…

Competency-based teacher education has provided institutions preparing students to become teachers of vocational agriculture with a basis for sequencing, unduplicated instruction, relevance, accountability, and some degree of measurability in the development of professional teacher education programs. (JOW)

Indicates that performance-based education (PBTE) falls short of its promises because of fundamental flaws. States that PBTE does not capture the complexity of teaching, is behavioristic, and lacks a research base. (JOW)

Based on experiences in Kansas, the problems discussed include: discrepancies between competency-based teacher education and current certification practices; categorical approaches to training and certification; reciprocal agreements for coursework and certification requirements; and the supply/demand of teachers. Possible solutions cited include…

Asserts that Competency Based Teacher Education as a social science is extremely inadequate, and that attempts to standardize teaching through formal performance criteria ought to be viewed as the bureaucratization of education. (Author/ML)

Provides an overview of major areas of proficiency which contribute to the effectiveness of continuing education practitioners. Suggests ways to acquire these proficiencies through personal efforts and participation in professional development activities. (Editor)