The report of the National Commission on Excellence in Education, "A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform," is criticized for overemphasizing human resource needs and economic utility at the expense of intellectual, moral, and spiritual learnings. Other perspectives on reform in the schools and in teacher education are discussed.…

Texas teacher education faculty, department heads, deans, and chief academic officers consider deans of education to be at least moderately effective in making decisions about teacher education. Perceptions of the deans' decision making about instructional programs, research, and student, faculty, and financial affairs were studied. (PP)

Support for preservice teacher education programs cannot be unqualified, just as calls to abandon it cannot be embraced uncritically. Many factors affect how well teachers perform and how children are educated. A selected bibliography of pertinent documents in the ERIC databases is given. (PP)

This article discusses what teachers will soon be expected to know and do with respect to computers and computer literacy. Teacher education, teaching jobs, and school plants will be affected. Teacher training institutions must address issues associated with developing information technology. (PP)

If teacher education institutions are to train computer-literate teachers, more money must be spent on increasing instructional computing facilities, computer support staff, new faculty, and staff development for existing faculty. Promising teacher education programs are noted, and actions that will help institutions prepare for this new area are…

Teacher educators and computer scientists at the University of Texas (Arlington) jointly created a computer software program which permits management, review, and renewal of the secondary school teacher certification curriculum. The planning and development of the computer-managed program are described. (PP)

Educational computing refers to a new interdisciplinary area of study combining the fields of teacher education and computer science education. Courses and curricula appropriate for educational computing at the undergraduate and masters-degree levels are described, along with an exemplary program at Iona College in New York. (PP)

An experiment explored the amount of time required to add computer literacy to preservice teachers' skills and whether skills could be taught without a computer literacy course. Students in an industrial education methods course acquired many needed skills when a computer became an adjunct to the course. (PP)

Computers are highly sophisticated information-processing tools. They must not become ends in themselves. Computer technology must not be substituted for direct encounters with other humans, for active participation in the free enterprise system, or for cultivating competencies necessary for citizenship. (PP)

Questions are raised about the quality of educational software programs and about what teacher educators should be doing to become computer literate. Computers will lead to many changes in the classroom; teacher educators should take a leadership role in the process. (PP)

Policy statements were gathered from 13 organizations which have major responsibilities in the area of teacher education. Statements were solicited on 20 issues, including educational quality and standards, program structure, certification, governance, and student admission. Agreements and disagreements among organizations are described. (PP)

A study is described that examined the outcomes of implementing peer clinical supervision in one urban elementary school over a semester's time. (JMK)

Teachers must be informed about the signs or indicators of child abuse and neglect, as well as the reporting procedures, to become more effective in reporting suspected cases. Teacher educators can provide this information in a variety of ways; three ways are suggested. (JMK)

A research-based model of the factors that influence teacher attrition or retention is presented. Variables in four areas are discussed: (1) teacher characteristics; (2) teacher training and work experience; (3) professional and social integration; and (4) career satisfaction. The model reflects the social learning theory of career development.…

Colleges and universities that train teachers for early childhood education were asked how changes in state certification requirements have affected their programs and about the types of field experiences they offer. Significant program changes during the past five years are reported. (PP)