Organizations, foundations, and individuals are concentrating their energies on making teaching a true profession. They are seeking changes in the way teachers are prepared, how they are evaluated and certified, their continuing professional development, and their compensation and working conditions. (Author/IAH)

Examines the preservice teacher education role of professional development schools in the context of school-university partnerships. The necessary joining of K-12 and university cultures raises numerous problems, including dealing with cultural clash and schools of education, sustaining leadership and commitment, providing adequate resources,…

This article examines leading proposals from the past four decades, the 1950s through the 1980s, for the reform of teacher education and outlines guidelines for determining the inherent worth and substance of teacher education reform proposals. (IAH)

Describes collaboration between the University of Nebraska (Lincoln) and local schools to implement a clinically based professional development model in which practitioners and researchers work together to provide meaningful practicum experiences for preservice physical education teachers. A survey of preservice teachers, university faculty, and…

One of five articles on professional development schools in this theme issue. Naturalistic research methods were used to identify the characteristics that supported changes in professional development initiatives, restructuring, and teaching and learning in Crescentview School (Michigan), a multicultural, multilingual, elementary professional…

Data from a descriptive study of the impact of professional development school (PDS) involvement on teacher preparation at three Massachusetts colleges is related to three themes: uniqueness of PDS-related techniques, approaches, and philosophy; mechanism and spread of these techniques, approaches, and philosophy; and signs of institutionalization…

The professional development school (PDS) has its roots in efforts to professionalize the teaching profession and in the concept that schools of education must reshape themselves as professional schools. This article outlines the concepts which have spawned and guided PDS implementation and discusses the realities faced by PDS planners and…

Arguments are posed against alternative certification programs that exclude sufficient pedagogical training; however, programs that build upon nontraditional students' prior content knowledge are supported. Professional development schools offer promising clinical settings for alternative certification programs. (IAH)

Examined leadership roles that classroom teachers filled within the University of South Carolina's Professional Development School (PDS) network. Focus-group discussions with participating teachers indicated that mentor teachers worked with preservice teachers in nontraditional ways, engaging in meaningful teaching experiences and instructing…

To determine the impact of program structure on new teachers' employment and program satisfaction patterns, data were collected from 152 students who completed three routes to licensure: a graduate-level, 10-month program; a traditional undergraduate program; or a Professional Development School (PDS) operating within the traditional program.…

Describes a professional development experience in which elementary teachers and college faculty participated in an Inquiry Seminar housed in the elementary school over 3 years. Teachers discussed classroom action research, and college faculty reflected on problems of practice in today's elementary classrooms. The boundary-crossing activities…

Examined the perceptions of Professional Development School (PDS) stakeholders to investigate the match between the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) Draft Standards and PDS practice. Focus group data indicated that many aspects of the standards were successfully reflected, though some practices were not. Results…

Argues against educational reform based solely on curricular standards, examining collaborative projects in two urban Professional Development Schools (PDSs) and advocating the resources and structures to establish critical relationships enabling educators to learn about themselves as they learn with others. Analyzing relationships characterizing…

Weary of fighting with other districts for the best teachers, Fairfax (Virginia) County Schools adopted a more cooperative approach. The district is pursuing professional-development school agreements with four area universities. Similar recruitment partnerships are under way in Cleveland, Ohio; Tolleson, Arizona; and Olathe, Kansas. (MLH)

Evaluated the impact of student teachers on the public school teachers and students within the Professional Development Schools (PDS) in which they were placed. Data from observations, samples of student teacher and student work, and interviews with student teachers, mentor teachers, and principals indicated that the PDS-mediated collaborations…