Diane Ravitch has emerged as one of the most powerful forces for real education reform. She is a tireless crusader against the baseless claims that drive current educational policy and a clear-eyed visionary of what needs to be done. While at one time she left the educational community and then returned (both of which she addresses in this…

This article address the falsehoods regarding No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top legislation, the educational reformers' stance that schools are failing, the privatization movement in education, and the issues of technology in the schools. The importance of poverty is emphasized, although policymakers ignore it and advocate school…

The purpose of this study was to use the Stages of Concerns (SoC) framework established by Hall and Loucks as a way to usefully identify types of teachers. Teachers who participated in the study were attending a professional development program called Great Expectations (GE). A modified version of the SoC questionnaire was used, so an exploratory…

The Department of Education is moving to change accountability for teacher preparation institutions to include surveys of the graduates and their supervising principal following paid employment. This study describes one of a number of quantitative studies that examine the validity and usefulness of such follow-up surveys. Using multiple years of…

Building on Ball's (2009) model of generative change, we explored how two experienced literacy teachers, after completing a graduate-level multicultural literacy course, enacted the tenets of critical literacy. Ball defined teachers' generative thinking as "connecting their personal and professional knowledge with the knowledge that they gain from…

Although education is not the highest priority in this year's presidential election, the fact that education is an issue at all highlights the role of politics in education. More than for most professions, from the district to the national level, elections and political agendas shape the policies that govern classrooms. Although the teacher unions…

Researchers have advocated building a knowledge base for teacher education based on practitioner knowledge. In this article, the authors, two teacher educators, present knowledge gained from their systematic study of two lessons to help prospective teachers learn to study teaching. They offer a detailed look at the lessons' successes and…

Districts across the country are currently adopting models of professional learning communities (PLCs) as a means for improving teachers' instructional practice and student achievement. This evaluation research case study shares the 3-year history, development, and challenges of a district-wide implementation of Critical Friends Groups (CFGs), a…

Personally, the authors have seen the evolution of teacher education for over 30 years. From "diagnostic/prescriptive teaching" through "reflective practice," the quality of the programs and students has improved greatly. Turning that subjective appraisal into a quantifiable evaluation is a tricky enterprise in education. However, the demand for…

Describes the Process for Remediating Identified Marginal Education Candidates (PRIME Candidates) procedure, which identifies people at risk for successful completion of their preservice teacher education programs or who possess traits associated with rapid attrition in the teaching profession. The model provides a support system to help them in…

Though teacher educators are obliged to present promising innovations, they should present them as possibilities, not absolutes. Current trends toward one-size-fits-all instructional methods, with teacher educators taking simplified conceptions of current topics and presenting them as dogma, set new teachers up for frustration and failure.…

Investigated whether reform in Israel's teacher education admission standards has attracted better students than in the past. Data on students who were freshmen before, during, and after the academization indicated that students who are accepted now have a higher entry level than in previous years, but they represent a similar social and…

Examined elementary, middle, and high school principals' perspectives on their first-year teachers' competencies. Survey data indicated that principals had mixed feelings about new teachers' competencies. They believed new teachers needed improvement in discipline, diversity, technology, and curricular integration/flexibility issues. Perceived new…

Action research theory and practice can help encourage preservice teachers' critical reflection. The paper reviews action research theory, discusses conceptions of reflective teaching, and examines the power of action research to shape preservice teacher reflection. Several reports of how teacher educators have used action research in practice are…

Describes issues experienced by university faculty members during the creation of two university/middle school partnerships. Benefits included a broader community of professional colleagues, opportunities for research collaboration, and firsthand experience with school reform. Tensions included conflicts with the university's reward system, time…