Prior to presenting a model for evaluating teacher education progams, it is pointed out that five major issues must be settled before attempting an evaluation: (1) the evaluation's purpose; (2) clients or audience; (3) specific questions to investigate; (4) use of an internal or external evaluator or a combination; and (5) dissemination of the…

Addressing the problems of recruiting and retaining qualified teachers for small and rural schools, this digest outlines improvements that could be made by teacher education programs, state education agencies, school superintendents, and teachers themselves. Suggested guidelines for teacher education programs stress nontraditional approaches that…

This digest focuses on the data that show significant disparities between the number of teachers of color and the number of students of color and examines how well schools, colleges, and departments of education are doing in supplying teachers of color for U.S. classrooms. The document is organized into three sections. The first section discusses…

This digest provides an overview of a new institution, the professional development school (PDS), and of its place in improving public schooling. The PDS is the result of a collaboration between universities and local school districts. In recent years, the literature has suggested that public schools as they exist today cannot adequately prepare…

This digest summarizes the results of the latest annual survey of state teacher testing programs. State directors of teacher testing programs were contacted in the summer of 1989 and asked to update the data compiled by the American Institutes for Research in 1988. Data indicate that: (1) states commonly use admission tests for applicants to…

This publication considers the broad relationship between technology and education and what it implies for teacher training. Chapters discuss: (1) "Technological Literacy: A New Purpose of General Education;" (2) "The Character of Technological Literacy in General Education;" and (3) "Responses to the Need for Technological Literacy." As seen by…

Paraeducators are school employees whose responsibilities are either instructional in nature or who deliver other services to students. Large numbers of paraeducators have expressed a desire to become professional teachers. Because many paraeducators, perhaps the majority, are from minority groups, they would expand the pool of potential teachers…

An International Congress on Environmental Education has been announced for Moscow, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), during late summer 1987, to mark the tenth anniversary of the October 1977 Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental Education, held in Tbilisi, Georgia, USSR. This document reviews the outcome of the 1977 conference,…

Since 1975, the political climate has increasingly supported the inclusion of American Indian culture and language in Native education and the training of Native teachers. Native teachers enhance the teacher-student relationship for Native students, are role models for Native youth, and are aware of Native learning styles. The ongoing Native…

This paper highlights recent trends, issues, and research related to the roles and authority of states in policies for teachers and teaching. A review of literature demonstrates an increased role for state policymakers in education decision making. Decisions that had typically been within the domain of professional educators are now subject to…

This ERIC Digest reports on the outcomes of a conference of teachers, college history professors, teacher educators, and state and local school board members. The theme of the meeting was that if, according to the standards-based strategy for democratic school reform, all students in every school are to be offered an equally solid and engaging…

This monograph relates the evolution, current status, issues, trends, and future perspective of undergraduate physical education teacher education (P.E.T.E.). The first section offers an historical overview of the profession. Preparation programs and curricula are described as they have progressed from the middle of the nineteenth century to the…

The need to recruit more minority teachers for urban schools is acute. Although enrollment in teacher preparation programs has increased, few of these future teachers intend to teach in urban schools where they are most needed. Ninety-five percent of prospective secondary school teachers come from suburban, rural, or small town backgrounds, and…

A collaborative program between the University of South Carolina College of Education and Lexington County (South Carolina) School District Five provided gifted and talented students with a summer school session featuring acceleration and enrichment. Accompanying the program were graduate-level courses and practica for prospective teachers of…

Professional teacher educators recognize that the body of knowledge about teaching and learning is today more substantive, consistent, and authoritative than ever before. It should also be acknowledged, however, that too little of that knowledge is incorporated into the preservice education of teachers. This volume, containing 12 papers presented…