Teacher education at the university has to relate both to the school and to academia. Since these two worlds have values that to some extent diverge, teacher education is placed in a field of tension between the requirement to adapt to academic standards, norms, and values and the requirement to maintain a close professional relationship with the practice of teaching in schools. This article gives an account of a Norwegian experience of this field of tension. The purpose of this article is to discuss, interrogate, and identify problems inherent in the tensions between academia and the proximity to the field and the need for robust knowledge production through research and the "tips for teachers" approach. Teacher education has shown adaption to the structures of the university but also developments that point in another direction; this divided culture requires a sharper focus on the complexity of the inherent issues involved. (Contains 3 tables and 20 notes.)