National Council For Accreditation Of Teacher Education Research Articles

Educational Law: A Requisite Course for Preservice and Inservice Teacher Education Programs

Today's schools function in a complex legal environment. A wide range of legal issues influence the lives of teachers, students, parents, and administrators (Fischer, Schimmel, & Kelly, 1995). Some legal decisions, such as how local education will be financed or where the next new school building will be located, relate to general control of the school curriculum. Other decisions deal with issues of classroom teachers' authority as they perform duties required by their job assignments (Nolte, 1983). Recent court proceedings reflect an increase in settlements related to educational matters (Hartmeister, 1995). The National Education Association (NEA) reports approximately 14,500 teacher employment disputes in 1992-1993, resulting in expenditures of $24,650,000 by the organization's legal fund (Patterson & Rossow, 1996). NEA figures do not include tort claims. Applying a finding by Underwood and Noffke (cited in Pell, 1994) that 42.5% of all education cases involve employee issues to the information supplied by the NEA, we extrapolate that in 1992-1993, teachers and their districts were involved in at least 27,500 legal disputes in such matters as employee relations, negligence, special education, and discipline practices (p. 38). Focus of this Study Society is becoming more legally complex. To be more responsive to society and to better serve children's interests, future teachers require a firm understanding of the law related to children (Sametz, 1983). In this article, we present information about the amount of educational law required by the various states during undergraduate and graduate preservice teacher certification programs. We describe Louisiana teachers' self-perception of knowledge of educational law gleaned from their preservice courses. We consider educational law concepts suggested for preservice teacher education by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and those suggested by the Teacher Certification Committee (1993) of the National Organization on Legal Problems of Education (NOLPE), a nonadvocacy group of education law attorneys, public and private school administrators, and college and university professors. Finally, we suggest recommendations affecting the emphasis on educational law for preservice and inservice teacher education. Research Methods We surveyed all 50 United States state teacher certification bureaus about whether they require an educational law course or the study of legal issues affecting teachers as part of required teacher education coursework prior to certification. We examined Louisiana teachers' perceptions of the educational law content in the teacher preparation programs they completed. We also report comments, concerns, and apprehensions relating to educational law and the classroom setting expressed by the participating educators. State data reflect findings from 480 participating teachers (of 800 teachers surveyed) working in 12 locations throughout Louisiana. We chose each school site for its proximity (within 30 miles of a college or university with undergraduate and graduate education programs). Schools representing varying organizational patterns and demographic regions of the state were chosen for the survey. The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) of Louisiana mandates certification standards for subject matter areas in which an educator must exhibit competency to become certified as a teacher. Similar mandates exist for educators seeking administrative certification (Louisiana Department of Education, 1985). The Difficulty at Hand We see a problem, however, with the teacher certification model in Louisiana that prompted our research. Very little, if any, room exists within present certification standards for a course in educational law for undergraduate or graduate education programs. Currently, state certification standards require only those students seeking certification in administration and/or supervision to include at least one course in educational law. …

Technology-Rich Teacher Education

Training teachers to provide instruction in computer applications and programming is necessary, but no longer sufficient. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) have written standards for educating all teachers as well as standards for teacher education units. This article describes how one college of education meets these standards. Strategies include guest lecturing by a member of the applied technology faculty in education classes, workshops led by graduate students, and management of software resources in the computer center.

New Directions in Early Childhood Teacher Preparation: Developmentally and Culturally Appropriate Practice (DCAP)

Teacher education criteria of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) has included a multicultural education component since 1979. Recent revisions of these standards (NCATE, 1992a & b) address multicultural education perspectives even more explicitly. NCATE standards also discuss the necessity of addressing Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP). DAP is defined as an important philosophical framework and related pedagogical guideline for early childhood education that emphasizes age appropriateness and individual appropriateness when planning programs for young children (Bredekamp, 1987).

Comprehensive professional development plan for a college of education

The professional development plan for a college of education and the process used to develop the plan are described to encourage and assist others to undertake similar projects. The committee that developed the plan first had to reach consensus on the purpose and nature of professional development. The plan was cited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) review team as one of the strengths of the college. Reflections on why the plan was successful and the next tasks to be implemented in the ongoing professional development program are discussed.

Creating a Teaching, Technology and Restructuring Partnership with Young Adolescents in Mind

tary and secondary preparation pro grams. In a way, the middle level teacher just happened, emerging from elementary pro grams or landing at the middle school from secondary study. But who are we kidding? Somebody apparently, because these days certainly are not gone. The idea of preparing teachers specifically for middle level is still a novelty for many people and in many places. Walzer (1994) reports that only 22 universities have programs which fulfill the guidelines recommended by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) for middle level educa tion; and only approximately one-third of colleges throughout the United States have any courses geared to middle school teach ing. This article describes the collaborative development of a middle level teacher preparation program through one year of planning to the present, its second year of implementation. It was designed explicitly to prepare credential candidates to work effectively with young adolescents, to be valuable and productive contributors on interdisciplinary teams, to serve as effective advisors, to accommodate diversity by focusing on the needs of learners, to inte grate technology into the teaching and learn ing processes—and more. It was designed, in short, to prepare middle level teachers. Although California does not issue a separate middle level credential, the California Teacher Credentialing Commission recognizes the need for creden tial programs which lie outside the tradition al elementary (Multiple Subjects credential) and secondary (Single Subject credential) programs. It was under the guidelines of a Single Subject credential that this program was built. Students accepted into the pro gram would all have an at least one under graduate content area major and would have completed or be working toward a sec ond content area in which they could secure formal (supplemental) authorization for teaching. The specific requirements for the content major and supplemental authoriza tions are not important here. What is impor tant is that the preservice candidates in this program would enter the credential year (a post-baccalaureate, fifth year credential pro gram) with the opportunity to work effec tively in an interdisciplinary environment, rather than to work exclusively in a one-con tent-area, departmentalized setting. The purpose of this paper is not to hold our processes of planning and implementa tion aloft as the perfect model. We believe that our experience thus far might provide useful insights for others embarking on sim ilar journeys. Our intent is to continue a dia logue started by many others who are com mitted to the notion that middle level teach

Specialized Accreditation:

The number of specialized accreditors continues to increase. Consequently, college librarians need to become more knowledgeable about the process. Three main areas of concern are (1) paper-work demands; (2) vagueness in standards and criteria; and (3) potential resource inequity. The author offers a detailed overview of the standards, criteria, and procedures used by one specialized accreditor, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), and suggests ways to be prepared for site visits and reports. A specialized accreditor directory is included as an Appendix.

National Standards for Computer/Technology Teacher Preparation: A Catalyst for Change in American Education.

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has developed standards for preparing teachers in the specialty area of educational computing and information technologies. These guidelines were adopted by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), the only agency officially sanctioned to accredit professional teacher preparation programs in the United States. ISTE’s association with NCATE has already resulted in a significant impact on the way computer and technology education is viewed in the United States. Educators are now reporting instances where the combined power of the ISTE standards and NCATE accreditation process have contributed to successful efforts to develop programs and promote change within the educational structure. This paper explores the guidelines and presents documented instances where these standards have contributed to successful efforts to develop programs and promote change within the educational structure.

The NCATE Process and behaviorally-based special education

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) has long sought to identify effective programs for teacher preparation in this country. Recently, the Council has revised its standards to be more rigorous and demanding. This revision presents new and challenging standards for the accreditation of programs preparing educators. The most problematic but most important of these new standards is the requirement of a well-articulated knowledge base supporting a program's content and processes. Development of the knowledge base statement involves the articulation of the program's philosophy, theme, model, goals, objectives, primary research base, wisdom of practice, and evaluation procedures. A behavioral model serves well in meeting these requirements, particularly since behavioral applications in education are well researched and the approach is compatible with the emphasis on specific goals and objectives and evaluation of effectiveness. Effective educational methods are available and are mostly behavioral. The articulation of the NCATE knowledge base encourages education faculty, traditionally nonbehavioral, to examine the effectiveness of their programs and to demonstrate research and professional support for content and instructional methods. A behavioral knowledge base statement appropriate for NCATE is demonstrated through examples drawn from Gonzaga University's knowledge base for special education.

Principal's Role To Become More Demanding as School Transformation Occurs

Last summer; NASSP Bulletin edi tor Tom Koerner visited with Arthur E. Wise, president of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). Long known as an advocate for teacher reform, Wise moved to NCATE from the Rand Corporation, where he headed the Center for the Study of the Teaching Profession. During the interview, which appears on the following pages, Wise looks at the status of the education reform effort, the impact of the national goals, and the role of the principal in implementing change.

Two Investigations Into the Influence of Incentives and Subject Characteristics on Mail Survey Responses in Teacher Education

Two investigations were conducted to examine whether incentives in crease the number of survey returns from former students and whether ideographic characteristics, incentives, and multiple mailings influence perceptions of respon dents. Sampling former students (graduates of teacher education programs) across years of experience and level of teaching did not result in response bias from these characteristics. Second, using small monetary incentives ($.25, $.50, $1.00) and a raffle for a professional journal to encourage responding to a survey was unproduc tive, whereas establishing a communication network (newsletters) with former students was productive. Third, using multiple requests to increase the number of returns did not affect item response patterns across mail-out requests. EDUCATIONAL DECISION MAKERS expend substantial resources in gathering perceptional data from students, former students, and colleagues regarding existing programs and proposed plans and experiences. This ob servation is particularly appropriate in teacher education where institutions are required to evaluate their programs in order to meet accreditation re quirements of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and state departments of education. Information-gathering ef forts that employ survey techniques often play an important role in pro viding data for academic planning and policy decisions as well (Galluzzo & Craig, 1990). Given limited resources of personnel and funds plus demand ing time schedules, the mail questionnaire often is the most feasible tech nique for obtaining survey data. Yet the validity and utility of this approach to data gathering depend on the response ratio (decimal value of individuals surveyed who complete and return the instrument) as well as response quali ty (whether respondents actually complete the returned instrument).

The 1979 NCATE Standards: Implications for Teacher Education Programs

In May 1977, the National Council for Accredita tion of Teacher Education (NCATE) adopted revisions to the standards which will become effective on January 1, 1979. Prior to the adoption of the new NCATE con stitution in 1973, AACTE had the responsibility for re vising standards. The 1970 revision of standards was largely the work of the AACTE committee on stan dards. However, under the new constitution, the NCATE's committee on standards is charged with the responsibility for recommending changes in the stan dards. In the present case, the committee made a series of proposals. According to the NCATE constitution, there must be a waiting period between presentation and adoption of changes in standards. During this period, constituent organizations and member institu tions had the opportunity to react. One public meeting was held at which NCATE constituent members ap peared. An AACTE task force on accreditation pre pared reactions to the proposed changes, many of which were adopted by the NCATE committee on standards. The committee's final recommendations were adopted by the council in May 1977. According to the NCATE constitution, there must be an 18 month period before implementation, so the standards will apply to institutions being visited after January 1, 1979. This paper will discuss the revised standards with emphasis on changes from the present standards. Im plications for institutions as they prepare for NCATE visits will also be considered. In many cases, the changes are merely clarifications of existing standards. However, as will be seen, there are some significant and substantial changes. In the final section we raise some fundamental questions about the application of the standards.