Considering the importance of education in the life of a 21st-century person, it is remarkable that the training of teachers continues to be as inconsistent, and in many cases, as lackadaisical, as it is. For all the evidence indicating that excellent teachers rank high on the list of factors essential to student success, one would expect that…

The University of Minnesota's teacher center was established by the University's Board of Regents and the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education. The teacher center functions to: (a) identify common priorities of the school and university systems, and jointly design projects and programs of inservice, preservice, and curriculum development;…

Alternative teacher credentialing should be evaluated in terms of its effectiveness in improving the quality of education cost effectively, attracting high quality and more diverse teachers, and forging closer links between teacher education reform and elementary-secondary school improvement. (SK)

The major arguments related to teacher preparation at the baccalaureate and postbaccalaureate levels are discussed. (MT)

Six midwest institutions, consisting of two major universities, three large state-supported colleges, and one smaller liberal arts college, were studied in an effort to provide an indepth description of how elementary school teachers are prepared in preservice teacher education programs. Objectives were to provide a clearer picture of: (1) the…

Institutions of higher education can be organized as viable and vital contributors to inservice teacher education programs. A critical reexamination of the relationship between preservice and inservice training is needed. Inservice is only one part of a continuing education process, which should be organized both within and between schools and…

Current thinking about and operational examples of school-focused inservice teacher education are synthesized. The primary data sources for this report were the ideas and materials shared in case studies conducted in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. The report begins by examining how several writers have contributed to…

This article notes that there are more issues and problems than positive programmatic trends; it looks at eight major challenges that U.S. schools of education must overcome if they are to become professional schools, analyzing where teacher education currently is vis-a-vis the challenges. (SM)

This paper on the future of preservice teacher education examines the question of whether a crisis exists today in schools and in teacher education. It is noted that judgments vary, given different perspectives and vantage points for observation, and that a reliable assessment of the current health of schooling and teacher education is difficult.…

Rapid social and demographic changes will have an impact on the future training of teachers. The emergence of an unmotivated urban student population from families who undervalue education will pose increasing problems for teachers. While teachers' knowledge of subject matter is essential, insights into the ecology of the classroom, the nature of…

The Research About Teacher Education (RATE) project is an ongoing data collection effort to establish a reliable database about institutions of higher education where teachers are prepared, and about the faculty, students, and programs at these institutions. This RATE study is based on a survey of 91 heads of schools, colleges, and departments of…

This study analyzes data from surveys of faculty and leaders of teacher education programs about their influence on state policy, relationships with elementary and secondary schools, budgets, relationships within the larger institution, and factors that affect morale among college faculty, such as promotion criteria and institutional support of…

Both the history and research foundations behind teacher education are reviewed in this collection of essays. The current knowledge base is assessed by several scholars in the teacher education field, and suggestions are made for future efforts in teacher selection and training. In chapter 1 (Kenneth R. Howey), an overview provides insights into…

The Research About Teacher Education (RATE) project is an ongoing data collection effort to establish a reliable database about institutions of higher education where teachers are prepared, and about the faculty, students, and programs at these institutions. This study on the preparation of teachers in urban settings collected data from 230…