As a K-12 classroom teacher turned teacher educator, the author believes that it is imperative that teacher educators as university faculty strive to confront the educational inequities that exist in the public schools as a part of their vision for preparing today's teachers. By this, the author means that they commit to transforming the…

The normal school began in Iowa in 1849, developed early partnerships with local districts, and evolved into the current situation of 29 teacher education institutions (TEIs). By 1980, 42.5% of Iowa's population was rural; a 1981-1982 study showed 37.5% of Iowa's students were in rural districts. A follow-up placement study of the University of…

This book presents affirmative strategies to rid schools of discrimination. Many of these strategies were developed as a result of research in four public high schools with large percentages of ethnic and language minority students in the deep south. The study, which consisted of 48 30-90 minute interviews, suggested that there is wide student…

This publication presents a collection of articles about education drawn from magazines, journals, books, and reports. The collection includes 13 selections touching on key educational issues, challenging ideas, and proposals for change: (1) "First Born, Fast Grown: The Manful Life of Nicholas" (Isabel Wilkerson); (2) "Putting…

This study followed six "culturally aware" elementary school teachers through student teaching and their first two years of teaching to look at how their life experiences as minority people affected their classroom practices. The study was a qualitative inquiry based on reciprocal and interactive relationships. The approach was…

These three papers address educational improvement through partnerships between institutions of higher education and elementary/secondary schools. In the first paper, "Partnerships for America's Children," Kati Perry Haycock challenges educators in elementary/secondary schools and in higher education to use partnerships to create a continuum for…