Current facts concerning the teaching profession should be analyzed and acted upon. Most college students now studying to enter the teaching profession come from the bottom quarter of those taking the college entrance examinations. Schools and Colleges of Education are held in very low esteem on most campuses; therefore, when budgets are cut, they…

Salient questions on the curriculum for student teachers were developed and responses sought from student teachers, who provided critical discussions with reference to their subject specialty. Chapter 1 discusses the "hidden" curriculum in relation to its influence on the pursuit and aims of education. In chapter 2, ways in which…

Notes recent growth of dance in America and lack of dance education in public schools. Comments on effects Paideia Proposal adoption would have on dance in schools. Discusses proposal effects on teacher education, particularly concerning dance. Covers citizen interest in dance and the future of the dance profession. (MH)

Teacher education must become a profession by initiating significant changes, requiring perceptual shifts, in training models. Needed are a generalist-specialist training model; recognition that program graduates are not qualified practitioners of the teaching profession until satisfactory completion of a two-year residency; and coordination among…

Maintains that the content, skills, and perspectives specified for preservice teacher education in the National Geography Standards are essential for dissemination of the Standards to classrooms across the nation. Presents a model curriculum based on this approach. (CFR)

The 1990s literature and the weight of John Goodlad's research show that faculties of education have failed to contribute to educational reform. Teacher-education programs should advance a transformative approach to teaching that is responsive to student diversity and aligned with K-12 education reform. Questions of mission, pedagogy,…

America's leading historian of education recounts a lifetime in the cause of responsible school reform. Diane Ravitch's blow-by-blow description of run-ins with Afrocentrist firebrand Leonard Jeffries, misguided feminists at the AAUW, the language sensitivity police, and others offers a fascinating perspective on how the education establishment…

The revised standards used by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) embody several departures from past standards. One difference is that they oblige units to focus on the knowledge bases pertinent to professional preparation for education. The concept of knowledge bases is explored, and implications for the construct…

Teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) may be regarded as developing through several major phases that require time and guided practice. This paper describes a graduate class titled "Learning and Development in Exceptional Individuals" in which teachers learn about pedagogy and tie it to content teaching as they work with…

This paper, on the central and distinctive contribution of knowledge to teaching, combines philosophical analysis with a discussion of work in research on teaching, student conceptions, and curriculum. The hierarchical argument contains two main points: (1) that content knowledge is a logical precondition for the activities of teaching; and (2)…

The National Network for Educational Renewal (NNER) consists of higher education institutions and partner K-12 schools promoting simultaneous renewal of teacher education and K-12 schools. The network helps renew teacher education by preparing educators who will: (1) provide all students with equitable opportunities for becoming educated,…

The University of Wyoming conducted a study at its lab school on the use of multimedia in education. Discussion includes the center and the curriculum; the type of data collected; results in terms of behavior, instructional materials, and management; as well as observations and recommendations. (AEF)

This commentary reflects on findings from previous articles that reviewed trends in special education research in the United States, Norway, Botswana, Ecuador, Australia, and Turkey. It discusses the function, funding, and subject matter of special education research, on research on the education of special education teachers, and on research…

Canada Native students must be engaged in their education, understanding their vital role in their peoples' futures. Every native-language speaker must be responsible for passing on the language to younger generations, because it is through language that culture remains intact. This effort must become part of preservice teacher education. (SM)

This paper addresses, from an ecological perspective, the idea that a system of education includes much more than schools, encompassing such elements as families, day-care centers, peer groups, television broadcasters, and workplaces. At the core of such an educational system are educative communities, of which schools are an important part. If…