A case is made for maintaining teacher education at the undergraduate level. This paper outlines the core arguments used by contemporary proponents of extended teacher preparation programs, and identifies which of these arguments are recurrent themes from earlier rationales. The validity of the arguments is also assessed. Some of the hidden costs…

This article is a response to "The Holmes Group Report: Impetus for Gaining Professional Status for Teachers" (Case, Lainner, and Miskel) It argues that Case and coauthors fail to prove that their concept of professionalism supports the major recommendations of the Holmes Group Report. (MT)

Introduces three fanciful recommendations for improving teacher education. They include closing the largest teacher education programs, eliminating courses (which create fragmentation), and refusing to detach pedagogy from content. The paper discusses ways that it might be possible to accomplish such goals. (SM)

This book focuses on redesigning teacher education. Chapter 1, "Composing a Life as a Teacher Educator," examines a teacher educator's early career and how he arrived at certain perspectives that underlie his thinking on what needs to change in the curriculum, organization, and administration of teacher education. Chapter 2, "Common Criticisms and…

Highlighted in this paper are several hidden costs entailed by mandating that all teachers be prepared through 5 or 6 years of teacher education, with the professional part of that preparation occurring at the graduate level. Four areas where mandating extended preparation may lead to hidden costs are identified: (1) encouraging a focus on…

This paper examines the Holmes Group proposal to eliminate the undergraduate teacher education major, sees more concern with the structure than with the substance of reform, and finds a commitment to a linear form of professional study. This, it is argued, is in the political interest of research universities. (Author/MT)

This paper examines the presumption that larger teacher education programs are superior to smaller ones, suggesting that many of the persistent problems of preservice teacher education are rooted in the large, bureaucratic organization so prevalent in current programming. The paper suggests that small program size makes possible the development…

This monograph provides a framework for analyzing and evaluating the soundness of teacher education reform proposals. Key questions covering five areas that may be addressed to various proposals are presented: (1) problem definition; (2) solutions proposed; (3) rationale for the problem definition and proposed solutions; (4) feasibility of…

This article proposes rules of thumb about the teacher education design process. The rules are grounded in the attempts at reforming teacher education at Washington University in the early 1970s, at a time during which a year-long, field-based alternative to the traditional elementary program was operated. (IAH)

Explores two processes often stimulated by Professional Development Schools (PDSs): the destabilization of university faculty identities and the destabilization of university faculty work environments, presenting examples from one School of Education and its PDS partnership. The paper suggests that these destabilizing processes can help faculty…

Argues that the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education's (NCATE) intent to accredit only high quality programs is overly grandiose, suggesting that NCATE should instead focus on identifying weak programs. The article argues in support of this minimalist mission for NCATE and offers suggestions for moving NCATE toward a more…

This booklet focuses on reform of the professional portion of initial teacher preparation. Following an introduction entitled "Professional Education Under Attack," the booklet is organized into three sections. The first section evaluates the validity of four common criticisms of professional education of teachers, including those made…

This article proposes five criteria for evaluating and comparing conflicting conceptions of knowledge base frameworks for teaching and teacher education. These criteria are defined and applied to frameworks advocated by scholars, professional organizations, state agencies and teacher education programs. (IAH)

Teacher education faculty members, state certification officers, and National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) staff share what they have learned from their NCATE-state joint review and accreditation visits, noting dilemmas concerning the joint review (e.g., proactive versus reactive measures, issues of partnership versus…