In this article, Cochran-Smith argues that now more than ever, teacher education needs public intellectuals to challenge prevailing views and expose its governing myths. The author makes this argument by describing two issues that are in great need of public critique: (1) the myth that teacher education is a public policy problem that can be…

Dispositions for teaching have become a key issue in teacher education reform. Relatively little attention, however, has been devoted to studying how dispositions for teaching develop. This article argues that acquiring appropriate professional dispositions for teaching is a socio-cultural process that benefits from both formal and informal…

This article explores the use of documentation--to observe, record, and interpret the learning of children and their pre-service teachers to make that learning visible in order to point to it and engage in a collaborative dialogue. Inspired by the work of the Reggio Emilia infant-toddler and pre-schools in Italy, this study extends the idea of…

Recently, Professor Sonia Nieto of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst presented the results of her research on the factors that contribute to the sustainment of the professional vitality and commitment of quality teachers in urban high schools. Through her interactions with the teachers in her study, Professor Nieto identified seven themes…

Today, in the United States of America, preparing accomplished teachers who are committed to equity may be among the most important keys to the survival of their democratic way of life. In a society in which the ability to learn is increasingly essential to individual and societal success, the ability to teach powerfully--that is, to teach in ways…

What role does Professional Development School preparation play in teacher retention? We surveyed PDS and non-PDS graduates of five school-university partnerships to investigate preparation for teaching, employment, proficiency, efficacy, and participation in professional activities. Retention rates were 79% or above, with higher PDS than non-PDS…

The focus of this article is to describe a social organization of instruction and identify the conditions and contexts of critical classroom inquiry that are essential components of contemporary teacher education programs. Novice teachers must develop both the need to know and dispositions for knowing in order to move away from…

This article describes a number of internal organizational initiatives within an urban teacher education program designed to foster inclusive, responsive practices by newly licensed general and special education teacher candidates. After implementing a merged preparation program for both special and general educators, we captured faculty and…

Using qualitative and quantitative methods, we studied a large sample of our 2002-2003 preservice students to see how they were selected and how they fared in the program. Our research suggested that a key component of a preservice admissions process is to look for evidence that applicants possess qualities important for strong teaching; in our…

In this article, the author identifies two current--and competing--discourses concerning teaching and public education in general. One is the "official" discourse, embodied in "No Child Left Behind" language, with a focus on accountability, standards, credentials, and testing, accompanied by punitive measures for failing to…