An overview of options available for Federal cooperation in the improvement of teacher education considers possible areas in which government support may be effective. These include: (1) recruitment of talented students; (2) financial support for prospective teachers; (3) improvement grants to schools of education; (4) grants supporting…

The development of critical thinking skills in students is seen in this presentation as a significant and worthy objective of education, though the realization of this objective will be dependent upon many important factors. Among the factors cited here are, first, that recent major reform efforts have created no barriers to including critical…

The Holmes and Carnegie reports offer policy recommendations concerning the education and recruitment of Black teachers. As the student population becomes more nonwhite, the processes of teaching, testing, and certifying minority group teachers must become free of bias. Scholarships and pay raises will attract more minorities to the profession.…

This collection of papers points out problems and challenges that face schools, colleges, and departments of education as change agents try to reform them. After "Introduction: Reforming Schools, Colleges, and Departments of Education" (William G. Tierney), nine papers include: (1) "The Public Responsibility of Public Schools of…

Lack of public confidence has created a crisis in American education. To regain public support for the schools, educators can (1) mobilize educational agencies into an action force to support public education; (2) focus school goals on teaching content; (3) improve teacher quality; and (4) increase the supply of science and mathematics teachers.…

The No Child Left Behind Act requires all teachers to be highly qualified by 2005-06. Accomplishing this will require statewide collaboration among higher education, school districts, certification boards, and departments of education. Data from recent studies of teacher recruitment, retention, and professional development in Wyoming illustrate…

Examines the history of France's preservice teacher education, from separate primary and secondary training through the single new institution, the "Institut Universitaire de Formation des Maitres." The process of transition to this new institute has been difficult, largely due to powerful resistance shown by university and secondary…

Much is written in the literature about failing schools. What makes for failing schools as compared to those labeled as being proficient or excellent? Teachers and administrators in schools need to work in the direction of all schools being worthy. Each pupil needs to have the best education possible. The future of a child depends, in part, in…

The Science and Mathematics Alliance for Recruiting and Retaining Teachers (SMARRT) is a collaborative partnership pursuing aggressive strategies to recruit high quality minority teachers to teach in high-need schools in urban school districts. This partnership is dedicated to recruiting, preparing, and retaining high quality teachers with strong…

While policymakers have tried to improve teacher workforce effectiveness by raising certification requirements, research shows that credentials correlate little with teaching excellence, as measured by student performance. School districts do little additional screening and commonly award tenure after two or three years regardless of performance.…

Many schools across the country face persistent teacher working condition challenges that are closely related to high teacher turnover rates and chronic difficulties in recruiting and retaining teachers. Center for Teaching Quality (CTQ) research examining working conditions survey results in both North Carolina and South Carolina demonstrates…

A new national research consortium, the Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy (CTP), is designed to investigate the relation between excellent teaching and policymaking at the national, state, and local levels. Policy efforts to produce excellence in teaching must: (1) attract, recruit, and retain capable teachers; (2) develop teachers'…

At its meeting in August 1985, the members of the National Governors' Association formed seven task forces for the purpose of examining in-depth critical problem areas in American education. Focus was upon problems in the areas of: (1) teaching; (2) leadership and management; (3) parent involvement and choice; (4) readiness; (5) technology; (6)…

Although the American work force is generally better educated than ever before, the general productivity of American workers continues to drop. This trend indicates that too many people are unable to cope with the demands placed on them to organize, evaluate, and communicate information to each other. In order to better prepare citizens for life…

A workshop was held at George Washington University to consider the shortage of adult educators to meet the needs created by the Federally assisted programs in adult education and possible ways to prepare a wide variety of adult educators in large numbers, in a short period of time, without lowering professional standards. Discussion centered on…