Alternative teacher credentialing should be evaluated in terms of its effectiveness in improving the quality of education cost effectively, attracting high quality and more diverse teachers, and forging closer links between teacher education reform and elementary-secondary school improvement. (SK)

Both the history and research foundations behind teacher education are reviewed in this collection of essays. The current knowledge base is assessed by several scholars in the teacher education field, and suggestions are made for future efforts in teacher selection and training. In chapter 1 (Kenneth R. Howey), an overview provides insights into…

Current thinking about and operational examples of school-focused inservice teacher education are synthesized. The primary data sources for this report were the ideas and materials shared in case studies conducted in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. The report begins by examining how several writers have contributed to…

In 1979, the Teachers' Centers Exchange, working through the Far West Laboratory for Educational Research and Development, began a program that provided financial awards for the conduct of collaborative research on exemplary teachers' centers practices. From September 1979 through March 1982, 15 teachers' centers participated in 14 research…

This paper reports on the results of a survey on inservice teacher education. Three primary groups were surveyed: teachers, professors, and parents of school children. There was unanimous agreement between the three groups that there is not enough inservice currently provided to teachers. However, there was wide variation of opinion on what the…

Guidelines for reviewing teacher centers are presented in this paper. A teacher center is defined as an operation which incorporates the following: a) formal shared decision-making with regard to policy formation, budget, personnel and program by those who are affected, whether they are teachers, students, teacher educators, or community members;…

This study deals with the problems of teacher education programs and suggests some methods for improvement. The pressures and restrictions currently levied on the field of teacher education are discussed, and an examination is given of various education departments' admission policies and procedures. Profiles of education students and faculty…

This study analyzes data from surveys of faculty and leaders of teacher education programs about their influence on state policy, relationships with elementary and secondary schools, budgets, relationships within the larger institution, and factors that affect morale among college faculty, such as promotion criteria and institutional support of…

This article presents findings from the longitudinal study, Research about Teacher Education (RATE). The data presented represents the perceptions of faculty (N=250) and students (N=1130-1140) in elementary teacher education about several programatic aspects of teacher preparation including curriculum, conceptions of teaching, faculty instruction,…