There is now unprecedented emphasis on teacher quality in the USA and in many nations around the world with extremely high expectations for teacher performance. Based on the assumption that education and the economy are inextricably linked, it is now assumed that teachers can--and should--teach all students to world-class standards, serve as the…

Describes the public's desire for teaching quality and teacher accountability. Asserts that while teachers and teacher educators must be accountable for their work, this work cannot be determined by narrow conceptions of teaching quality and student learning focused exclusively on test scores and ignoring the complexity of teaching and leaning,…

Analyzes how two national agendas in teacher education reform (deregulation and professionalization) are publicly constructed and debated, using public documents from each side and the arguments of the advocates themselves. Suggests that despite very different agendas, both discourses revolve around the establishment of three interrelated warrants…

For almost as long as teacher education programs have existed, there has been controversy about the appropriate balance between liberal arts and pedagogy, theory and practice, and university experiences and school-based experiences. The author of this article, a member of the American Educational Research Association's Panel on Teacher Education,…

Explores some of the tensions between inquiry and outcomes in preservice teacher preparation, positing three outcomes of an inquiry stance: complex notions of what counts as learning for K- 12 students; examination of attitudes, values, and beliefs about diversity, U.S. society, and teachers' responsibilities; and understandings of teacher…