Employing Bourdieu's notion of social field, this research conceptualizes New Jersey's alternate route to teacher certification as a contested arena, in which the interests, ideologies, and visions of different stake-holders regarding the character of public education have collided. Findings for this study are primarily based on data from the New Jersey State Archives and on other open public documents. I conclude that during the 1980s New Jersey became one of the leading states in developing educational policies that excluded teacher unions and teacher educators from the positions of power they formerly held in the field of educational policy, gradually subordinating them to the power of the state. (Contains 1 figure and 16 notes.)