Ascribes to the notion that a teacher should be superior in organizational ability, enthusiastic about teaching, a skilled analyst, and adept at interpersonal relations. (DS)

Teachers have the lowest level of preparation of an established profession. An analytic model of teacher education helps identify what the components and strategies of teacher education could and should be. (Author/MLF)

A study examined ACT and SAT scores of candidates taking a test from the Educational Testing Service's Praxis II series for teachers in 1995-1997. People who pass teacher-licensure tests have academic skills comparable to those of the overall population of SAT takers. Whites have higher pass rates than do minorities. (MLH)

Author proposes that the traditional concept of the teacher as a servant of the community may act as a resistor to change and may have to be overcome before any significant change in the status of teachers can occur. (Author/RK)

For the past decade, the teaching profession has been building a system of quality assurance incorporating seven elements: advanced certification, licensing standards, curriculum standards, alignment, accreditation, professional-development schools, and state standards boards. NCATE-accredited institutions produce more qualified teachers than…

A discussion of the professional status of teachers outlines six criteria that could be used to judge the level of professionalization teachers have attained. (MM)

A review of recent research on personal characteristics of effective principals and on common leadership prerequisites concludes that effective instructional leadership depends on the interrelation between personal style and organizational context. Essential leadership functions identified by these studies include communicating school purpose,…

The teacher will no longer be a dispenser of facts but a director of learning activities and organizer of learning environment, a diagnostician, prescriber, and coordinator. (Author/AF)

The authors question whether elementary students will have access to effective science and mathematics instruction within the current structure of elementary schools, in which each classroom teachers is expected to possess the expertise to teach all subjects well. They review research showing that good teachers are the key to student achievement…

Rather than burdening administrators, educators are discovering that a well-designed evaluation system can effectively merge professional development with quality assurance in teacher evaluation. New participatory evaluation approaches include differentiated systems, multiyear cycles, and active teacher roles (via portfolios, professional…

U.S. high-school students' enrollment in arts classes is at an 18-year peak. In 1998, 52.7 percent of high-school graduates earned credits in visual arts classes, compared with 44 percent in 1982. For various reasons, technology course enrollments have not kept pace with society's technological transformation. (MLH)

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,…

One of the most important aspects of NCLB is its demand that states ensure a "highly qualified" teacher for every student. This provision draws much-needed attention to the importance of ensuring equitable student access to high-quality teachers, write the authors. Some aspects of the provision have raised legitimate concerns--including…

Compares and contrasts the composition of the Carnegie Task Force and the Holmes Group, their reports on teacher education, and their effect on the reform movement. Both groups recommend abolishing undergraduate degrees in education, raising teachers' salaries, increasing the number of minority teachers, and other improvements in the teaching…