Teacher Education Reform: An ERIC Bibliography

Abstract

Reform in teacher education has been a pervasive subject of intensive debate and activity among educators and others, particularly in the years since the report A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983), and, more recently, What Matters Most: Teaching for America's Future (Darling-Hammond, 1996) were published. The material reviewed here offers recent insights into a few issues: the role of administrators in reform; the current focus on standards for educational improvement; and the need to evaluate the effect of collaborative efforts between schools, colleges, or departments of education and public schools or school districts, known as Professional Development Schools (PDSs). The following selected annotated journal articles and documents in the ERIC database provide perspectives in these three areas. The education journals (EJ) cited in the bibliography are available at most research libraries. Education documents (ED) can be read at more than 900 microfiche collections in libraries, educational organizations, and school districts, or ordered online at the Internet web site of the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS) at http://edrs.com. Paper or microfiche copies of documents can be ordered from EDRS at 7420 Fullerton Road, Suite. 110, Springfield, VA 22153-2852; (800) 443-3742 or (703) 440-1440; FAX (703) 440-1408; E-mail: service@edrs.com. Journals without an EJ designation are in the process of being included in the ERIC database at the time of this writing. Leadership in Education Reform Dilworth, M. E. (Ed.). (1998). Of course it matters. Putting the National Commission Report into action. Washington, DC: ERIC Clearing-house on Teaching and Teacher Education. ED 417156 In this response to What Matters Most: Teaching for America's Future (Darling-Hammond, 1996), leaders in four different levels of education reflect on reform efforts that address concerns about standards, teacher preparation, and ongoing professional teacher development. A school district superintendent presents organizational innovations in a large urban school system; the dean of a school of education examines the impact of the report recommendation on schools, colleges, and departments of education; the executive director of a state standards board discusses adapting new licensing standards to fit local needs; and the executive director of a professional development association describes the organization's efforts to create benchmarks for improvement. In the final section, the original report's author discusses responses of these and other leaders to the National Commission recommendations. Hinton, J. G. (1997, January). Administrative impediments to reform and curricular change in science and mathematics for preservice teachers. Paper presented at the Southwest Educational Research Association, Austin, TX. ED 362464 The author presents a case study of the reform of a preservice program for teachers of math and science. Critical to reform was the participation of two departments in revising their curricula according to the National Science Foundation and the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics standards. The study focused on the process of change as it evolved in the two departments. Of interest here are the differences observed between the two departments in the scope and duration of the reforms, which the study attributes to the role of the department chair in promoting the reform. Although the faculties of both departments were actively engaged, and their mutual dean was supportive, successful reform was traced to the proactive role of the department chair. Standards in Education Reform Blackwell, S. (1997, March). The dilemma of standards-driven reform. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, Phoenix, AZ. ED 410565 Blackwell examines the expectations for reform laid on teacher education by the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) standards. …