Six suggestions for improving education in the country are offered. The case is made first that unless children's health care is improved, educational achievement among the poor will not improve. The second point is that poverty limits school achievement as well. Without work on these two issues, neither the nation nor the nation's schools will be…

This article explores the nature of self-study of teacher education practices by examining what self-study is and how it might be conducted and reported. In working through these ideas, the article makes an argument for the need for learning through self-study to be documented in ways that might not only be accessible to others but also meaningful…

In this article, the author explores seven "unanswered questions" concerning the preparation of future teacher educator-researchers. She considers five questions concerning the substance of doctoral preparation: what the new generation of teacher-researchers would need to know about teacher education, relevant disciplines, research methodologies,…

The locus of control in teacher education has been outside the hands of those who educate our nation's teachers for more than a century. Essentialists have long controlled the agenda for public schooling in America, and it is evident as well that their influence has prevailed in both the form and function of teacher education. The authors suggest…

Advocacy for academically based teacher education informs this article, which stresses the need for persuasive evidence of its value. A summary of the current state of the evidence is presented, concluding that positive evidence is now very limited. What is needed to make the case for academically based teacher education is quantitative empirical…

Although ethnographic studies sometimes reveal ways in which incongruity contributes to inequity, the research does not imply that teachers should always promote cultural congruity. Unless teachers understand the problems underlying endorsements of cultural congruity, they may contribute to the miseducation of future teachers and their students.…

This discussion of the Holmes Group Report ("Tomorrow's Teachers") argues that, because most education professionals support the basic tenets of the report, it is in the field's best interests to become part of the group attempting effective educational reform instead of individually attempting to fight off the attacks of…

This article proposes six priorities for faculty development which can strengthen the role of teacher education in the institution, while developing the vitality of the education faculty individually and collectively. (MT)

A critical review of the Preservice Teacher Education Improvement Project observes both the project as a whole and the efforts of the various institutions involved. An alternative view for improving teacher education programs is suggested. (DF)

A retrospective look at the Preservice Teacher Education Project shows both the benefits and shortcomings of the program. Involvement of institutions in this program indicates interest and need for support systems to help facilitate change in teacher education programs. (DF)

Although teaching and teacher education are related, the knowledge base for teacher education is not the knowledge base about teacher education. Differences are described and implications of research are discussed. The study of the professional development of teachers needs to be informed by multiple conceptions of the world. (MT)

Although research suggests that teachers make a difference in student performance, the variables are too numerous and the interactions too complex for the researcher to confidently identify the degree of a teacher's influence. But research can and should inform teacher educators about probable outcomes or products of the teaching process. (MT)

Common sense cannot and must not serve as the basis for professional practice. It is an inadequate approach to understanding the workings of the school bureaucracy and counterproductive in efforts to foster student learning. The great challenge to teacher educators is not to miss present opportunities to upgrade teacher education. (MT)

Excerpts from observers of the conference "Policies, Practices, and Research in Teacher Education: Beyond the Looking Glass" illustrate the variety of recommendations to improve teacher education and the quality of teaching that emerged during this conference. Conference observers were Hendrik Gideonse, Shirley Hord, Thomas J. Lasley, Preston…

In the past, the absence of performance standards for which teachers and teacher education institutions could be held accountable has helped protect teacher colleges from malpractice charges. As research identifies correlates between teacher behavior and student achievement, however, institutions which fail to teach minimum competencies may become…