Desperately Seeking Solutions

Abstract

One of the most persistent themes in the history of teacher education has been sharp public criticism coupled with ardent demands for improvement and change. Despite many reform initiatives over the years, however, it has been widely perceived that teacher education has been almost impervious to genuine reform (Fullan, 1998; Goodlad, 1990), failing to keep pace with the conditions of a changing society even when they threatened its very existence (Imig & Switzer, 1996). Perhaps it is the combination of a perceived historical failure to change coupled with the unprecedented intensity of current public attention that have prompted so many recent initiatives by prestigious national organizations and foundations that are related to teaching and teacher education, teachers' qualifications, and teacher quality. Although what follows is not a comprehensive list, the remainder of this editorial provides a brief description of some of the most visible current initiatives and reports that are directly related to teacher education; those recently completed are listed first, followed by those currently under way. Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy Research Report on Preparation. Suzanne Wilson, Robert Floden, and Joan Ferrini-Mundy (MSU) authored CTP's recent report, Teacher Preparation Research: Current Knowledge, Gaps, and Recommendations, for the U.S. Department of Education/OERI. The authors examined more than 300 peer-reviewed research reports about subject matter preparation, pedagogical preparation, clinical training, policies for improving teacher education, and alternative certification. Drawing on the 57 studies that met rigorous criteria, the report concludes that the empirical research base for teacher education is thin. It recommends a new generation of research that looks across institutions, examines specific parts of teachers' preparation, and has stronger research designs. Executive summary and full report are available at: http://www.ctpweb.org. Committee on Assessment and Quality Report. The National Research Council's Committee on Assessment and Quality recently issued Candidates: The Role of Licensure Tests in Improving Quality, edited by Karen Mitchell, David Robinson, Barbara Plake, and Kale Knolls. Chaired by David Robinson, the 19-member committee was impaneled by the National Academy of Sciences at the request of the U.S. DOE to examine the appropriateness and technical quality of teacher licensure tests and the merits of such tests for holding states and higher education institutions accountable for the quality of teacher education. The report concludes that initial teacher licensure tests fall short of the intended policy goals for their use as accountability tools and as levers for improving teacher preparation and licensing programs. Complete report is available at http://www. nap.edu. Educational Testing Service's Studies of Quality and Education. ETS' work on teacher quality and teacher education is not a single initiative but an emphasis in several of their centers. Along these lines, Harold Wenglinsky's study linking students' achievement in math and science with teacher qualifications, professional development and classroom practices, concludes that classroom practices matter most. His study on teaching teachers explores the links among the characteristics of teacher education institutions, their programs, and teacher effectiveness as measured by scores on licensure exams. Drew Gitomer, Andrew Latham and Robert Ziomek's study on the academic quality of prospective teachers concludes that prospective teachers' academic ability varies widely by type of licensure sought. For information on these and other ETS studies, consult: http://www.ets.org.research/. AERA Consensus Panel on Education. The AERA Consensus Panel is an 18-month initiative intended to provide a synthesis of existing empirical and conceptual research related to the preparation of new teachers. …