Educating Teachers for the 21st Century: Lessons Learned

Abstract

This articlefocuses on best practices in teacher preparation, citing as models several University of Maryland-Baltimore County programs, including: (a) a teacher training program that allows students to earn a bachelor's degree while taking education coursework and engaging in field experiences; (b) the Shriver Center, which leads direct service and service learning projects connecting theory to practice; and (c) the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, which prepares minority students for graduate study in science and engineering. The authors identify five elements of successful teacher preparation: high expectations for academic achievement, service and practical training, academic reflection, continuous program evaluation, and emphasis on institutional values and community. In thinking through both how teachers should be prepared for the 21st century and how new teachers should be expected to teach, it is critical that teacher educators at colleges and universities think as inclusively as possible about the children who will populate the nation's classrooms. Historically Black institutions traditionally have addressed the needs of underrepresented groups, focusing especially on the challenges facing the African American community. However, because the education of minority children is of growing national importance, all types of higher education institutions must strive to produce enlightened teachers who are not only capable of teaching the subject matter effectively but also skilled at teaching children from diverse racial, ethnic, social, cultural, geographic, linguistic, and economic backgrounds. Collectively, the nation's colleges and universities must work to transform the lives of those who are preparing to become teachers so that they, in turn, can become positive influences in transforming the lives of the children they teach. These institutions face the added challenge of elevating the public's perceptions of the teaching profession in terms of its value to the public and its attractiveness to the millions of postsecondary students in the United States who today are considering their future career choices. The quality of our teacher corps and the quality of our children's education depend largely on how well teacher educators address this challenge. Indeed, given the nation's demographic forecasts through the year 2050, the goal of achieving fuller access and excellence in education has never been more critical than today. Forecasters with the U.S. Department of Commerce (1995) predict a nearly 60% increase in the total U.S. population to 400 million, approximately 200 million of whom are projected to be minorities. Over the next 50 years, minorities are expected to grow from 25% of the nation's population, which is currently 12% African American, 10% Hispanic American, and 3% Asian American, to almost 50% (25% Hispanic American, 14% African American, and 10% Asian American).