A Lethal Threat to U.S. Teacher Education

Abstract

Dramatic changes are being made to teacher education internationally and in the United States. Some of the alterations have been recognized as threatening university-based teacher preparation, for instance, the growth of alternate route programs. Many other phenomena that have an impact on teacher education have not been analyzed as such, including for-profit corporations' development of professional development services linked to raising students' standardized test scores and the entry of private, for-profit institutions into the market for higher education. The challenge to teacher education's commitment to social justice has been debated, but its relationship to the other alterations being made to public education has not been explored. Moreover, the common origins of these phenomena and their synergistic impact have been inadequately studied, as have the implications of this synergy for university-based teacher education in the near future.

Developing a ‘clinical’ model for teacher education

“…The slippery use of language contained in political and empirical accounts of innovation in teacher education obscure ideological and theoretical differences. Divisions are intensifying in the USA and UK between 'traditionalists' or 'defenders' of university-led teacher education and 'reformers' (advocating alternative pathways and programmes) (Ravitch 2007;Wiener 2007;Imig et al 2011). Advocates of deregulation and market-based solutions critique 'professionalisers'' claims of a specialist knowledge base for teacher education.…”

Critical multicultural education and teacher sense of agency

“…Identity construction emerges from the interface of individual agency with larger social structures, all happening within specific communities of practice (Carroll et al, 2008;Norton, 2000Norton, , 2001Wenger, 1998). It is the interface between individual agency and subjectivity, on the one hand, and the hegemonic force of larger structures, on the other, that has brought many to characterize identity as not only being multiple and fluid but also a site of struggle (Norton, 2000;Weiner, 2007). Norton (2000Norton ( , 2001 characterizes aspects of subjectivity in terms of 'imagined communities', the groups, intangible or not readily accessible, to which an individual desires to belong.…”

Job Queues, Certification Status, and the Education Labor Market

“…Today, government policy increasingly shapes the preparation and work of teachers, not teacher organizations such as NACTE (Sleeter, 2001;Wiener, 2007;Wise, 2005). Within this context of competition and accountability, teachers view and sort potential schools according to their ability to reach academic goals and schools rank teachers according to their abilities to help them reach or maintain their organizational goals.…”