This article examines leading proposals from the past four decades, the 1950s through the 1980s, for the reform of teacher education and outlines guidelines for determining the inherent worth and substance of teacher education reform proposals. (IAH)

Discusses teacher-librarianship education in Australia. Topics discussed include courses at the undergraduate, graduate, and master's degree levels; student admissions criteria; field experience; course development and evaluation; course content, including instructional design and information management; professional development; professional…

Lilian Katz is director of ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education, professor at University of Illinois, and, in 1992, was elected president of National Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Discussed are her background, early childhood teacher preparation, students' and teachers' dispositions, Montessori…

Examines the social origins and professional status of librarians in Ghana. Topics discussed include personal characteristics, i.e., age, sex, and marital status; types of libraries; parental influences on career choice; satisfaction with current status; the role of the Ghana Library Association; and the training of nonprofessional staff. (19…

A longtime teacher in the United Kingdom uses his own work experiences and those of his colleagues to describe teachers' attitudes regarding teaching terms and conditions. He examines the Secretary of State for Education's "Terms and Conditions of Service" document and its implications for teacher supply and quality. (SM)

Describes a high school project that won an award in the 1991 A&E (Arts and Entertainment) National Teacher Grant Competition. The program, which introduced art history into the U.S. studies curriculum, involved cooperative research, analysis of art in the local museum, group presentations, parental participation, and the production of a…

Examines the certification program of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), focusing on professionalization, standards, assessment, and certification. Argues that the NBPTS program will ultimately institute more controls on teachers, further distance "professionals" from laypersons, and inhibit collaborative…

Discussion of the qualities that characterize effective teachers looks at research on exemplary instructors, including studies of students' memories of good teachers, observational studies, nominations for teaching awards, and comparison with average and poor instructors. The common factor is the ability to offer presentations in clearly organized…

Research on use of student evaluations of faculty as a source of information on good teaching is reviewed, and the differential importance of criteria expressed in the rating forms is discussed. It is concluded that while the data in the evaluations can have varied interpretations, they can also be an important source of information for…

The current scholarship model in higher education was conceived, produced, and reproduced in the image of the dominant culture. Within this model, minority group members receive less recognition, sponsorship, favorable evaluation, and positive commentary on scholarship. The paper discusses considerations for a more inclusive scholarship in higher…

As early as 1923, Jean Piaget challenged teachers to reevaluate their goals for students and to promote critical thinking rather than conformity. Piaget described two important educational goals. The first "principal goal of education is to create men who are capable of doing new things, not simply of repeating what other generations have…

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) was established in 1987 to develop and operate a system of advanced certification; including a set of high and rigorous standards of accomplished teaching and an assessment system designed to measure these standards. Utilizing a qualitative, case study framework, this research project…

This paper, which includes a substantial literature review, examines the perceived impact of the academic environment on the personal and professional opportunities of male and female faculty and addresses strategies to promote gender equity in the classroom. Survey data were gathered from a random sample of faculty at a southern postsecondary…

This paper reports the results of a 4-year longitudinal study of approximately 600 urban mathematics teachers who were surveyed to ascertain their attitudes regarding certain attributes of the profession of mathematics teaching, specifically: the use of the professional organization as a major referent, the belief in service to the public, the…

A number of environmental influences--social, cultural, political, economic, and personal--work against the development of sustained professional practice and a professional self-image in qualified staff in early child care centersin Australia. These influences derive from the low professional status of child care workers, the physical and…