Within this issue of "Teacher Education Quarterly," the authors examine the social justice knowledge of teachers, reflective practices, and predictors of performance on the Educative Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA). This article is a response to those articles and offers continued probes into who should be allowed to teach our…

With the adoption by most states of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English language arts and literacy and for mathematics (CCSS Initiative, 2010a, 2010b) comes major changes in public education that will affect instructional practice, curriculum, and assessment across the nation. Heritage, Walqui, and Linquanti (2015) argued that the…

Mirroring the heterogeneity of Spanish-speaking bilingual teachers and students in the United States, the authors reflect on their diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds to interrogate what it means to be "linguistically qualified" to prepare bilingual teachers in the United States. Through critical collaborative autoethnographies,…

In the current political context, researchers have, as Ivor Goodson (1992) earlier argued, a special obligation: "to assure that "the teachers' voice" is heard, heard loudly, heard articulately." But not just any "voice" will do--teacher troubles need to be tightly linked to issues, biography to history. On every front, directly and indirectly,…

This paper presents a study about how schools of education impact their students' ability to be successful in urban schools. What experiences--if any--in teacher education programs shape the development of race-conscious White teachers? To address her goal, the author conducted a qualitative study of six teachers currently employed in urban…

The report of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Panel on Research and Teacher Education recommended that teacher educators need to systematically and empirically study their own practice. The premise of the report was that teacher educators need to carry out quality research in order to better inform those inside and outside the…

Directors and staff for teacher development centers should have knowledge and skills that go beyond those included in most existing teacher or administrator preparation programs. The need for field-based teacher educators is discussed, as is the current lack of programs to train them. (PP)

This study examined changes in prospective elementary teachers' conceptions related to their descriptions of the qualities of effective teachers. In order to gain an understanding of teacher candidates' conceptions of quality teachers, the authors attempted to garner information from both qualitative and quantitative data derived through multiple…

The Eastern Washington University department of Education's teacher assurance program guarantees that its graduates will perform to classroom expectations. The program's positive aspects are described. (MT)

Teacher preparation programs have continued to see the ever-increasing control of teacher candidates by policymakers. To control means to regulate. The problem, according to these authors, is that there are currently at least three regulating measurement and assessment obstacles faced by teacher candidates in teacher preparation programs. The…

This study attempted to determine the appropriateness of the National Teacher Examination (NTE) for certifying competency of applicants for teaching credentials. One conclusion is that the NTE is a valid instrument but that grade point averages need to be considered as well. (SM)

The dynamics of teacher supply and demand cannot be understood, the authors argue, when there is no agreement on the definition of a teacher, the relationship between class size and teacher effectiveness, and the proper career pattern of a teacher. (MT)

Discusses the importance of the tension between theory and practice in teacher education, noting that it energizes the relationship between schools and universities. Explains what makes a good theory so practical and describes the importance of teacher educators helping prevent underprepared teachers (usually unfamiliar with important theory) from…

The concept of teacher education as professional preparation for a career is explored in this article. Through the study of educational foundations, the teacher develops abilities of self-criticism or "second thinking." Personal autonomy is achieved through academic and methodological knowledge. (DF)

Recent reforms intended to strengthen teacher preparation programs are reviewed. Attributes of ideal teacher candidates before and after training are listed, and recommendations to improve training and professionalize teaching are discussed. (MT)