The Role of State Postsecondary Education Policy in Supporting Teacher Education at the Community College

Abstract

To ensure that our nation's children have the competent teachers they need, long-range and comprehensive efforts focused on teacher education are needed at the state level. Although local colleges and universities are trying hard to increase enrollment in teacher preparation programs and to revise curricula to ensure quality in the programs they offer, state-level coordination is needed to bring the K-12 and higher education sectors together to prepare and retain sufficient numbers of competent, classroom-ready teachers.In this chapter we provide an overview of the structure and authority of state higher education agencies, concentrating on their role in academic, funding, and information system policies and practices. We then touch on the key state policy issues; decisions about these issues affect the manner in which and extent to which community colleges are involved in addressing teacher quality issues in the state, specifically through the structure and function of preparation programs. Finally, we suggest ways that states can encourage greater cross-system collaboration among K-12 schools, community colleges, and universities to promote systemic solutions to the related crises of teacher supply and teaching quality in the United States. Role of State Higher Education AgenciesEvery state system of postsecondary education includes an agency with responsibility for the governance or coordination of the institutions making up the system. The primary coordination function of a postsecondary

Do University Centers Produce Comparable Teacher Education Candidates?

“…Ignash and Townsend (2003) recommended that longitudinal studies of teacher preparation partnerships between universities and community colleges be conducted to assess the efficacy of this approach. In addition, Coulter and Crowe (2003) recommended that all program completers should be held to the same quality standards regardless of the type of institutions that provide the program. Although this study is limited to one university center at one institution involving 80 graduates from two program areas, the results do 252 Community College Review support the efficacy of the university center model.…”

“…Second, the results of this comparison suggest that educational leaders and policy makers can create and expand similar collaborative models in an effort to reduce the barriers of degree access and affordability for students pursuing a teaching career. According to Coulter and Crowe (2003), the resources necessary to establish a two-plus-two partnership are less involved than those needed to create a bachelor's degree program on the campus of a community college. Increased degree access and more affordable programs can encourage individuals interested in a degree in education to purse the degree program (Hagedorn, Newman, & Duffy, 2003).…”