From an in-house survey of the strengths and weaknesses of the academic planning process at the University of Cincinnati (Ohio), areas of success and accomplishment emerged that can be applied to schools of education: (1) enhanced skills in program planning and evaluation; (2) adapting to change; (3) leadership capacities; (4) defining…

The central aim of professional accreditation is defining and maintaining standards. An essential first step is establishing the profession's boundaries and membership. Teacher educators cannot agree on a definition of the teaching profession and have little control over accrediting agencies' governance. NCATE is an association permitting teacher…

New standards set by the National Council for Accreditaton of Teacher Education (NCATE) focus on unit, rather than program, acccreditation. The unit is the body within an institution that is primarily responsible for the preparation of teachers and other educational personnel. Units are required to focus on the knowledge bases pertinent to…

Instructional resources for teacher preparation are too thinly distributed and improperly structured to justify the numbers of institutions now engaging in such programs. The next decades should see a substantial reduction in the number of teacher preparation programs and institutions. (Author/MSE)

Administrators of teacher education programs should exert more leadership and insist on higher standards and adequate resources for their programs. Ohio's new teacher education standard provides for a ratio of one faculty member for every 14 students. (PP)

Policies now being enacted by many states to reform teacher education include testing, alternate routes to certification, scholarships and loan forgiveness, incentives, and overhauling certification packages and institutional standards. However, these policy initiatives are not likely to provide many lasting benefits, based on performance to date.…

Three basic assumptions which underlie the public attitude toward the teaching profession should be challenged. The first of these is that people should teach because they love it; the rewards of teaching are intrinsic. The second is that teaching is primarily the transmission of content. The third is that teacher preparation should consist of…

The author recommends that teachers receive a strong liberal education followed by a two-year postbaccalaureate training program. In addition, the schools must be reorganized to include hierarchically structured teams of teachers headed by those with even further professional training and higher pay. (Author/JM)