Teacher education in the United States of America, 2011

Abstract

Teacher education in the USA is faced with an uncertain future. Unprecedented efforts on the part of government, philanthropic foundations, social entrepreneurs, professional societies and others are reshaping the enterprise. Warring camps have emerged to promote decidedly different visions for teacher education, with university-based teacher education challenged for its cost, focus, effectiveness, structure and format, and ideological orientation. Teacher education has become a topic for national debate and the array of alternative models and structures and those who represent them make it difficult to predict a likely outcome. Research remains inconclusive regarding directions to be pursued and the appeals to expertise and professionalism are largely ignored by policy makers and others. Traditional coalitions of supporters have fractured and there is a decided absence of political and professional support for traditional teacher education. The authors identify half a dozen challenges that confront the schooling of children and youth and appeal for teacher educators to lead efforts to address each of these needs.