A Case for Change in Teacher Preparation


Book Description

"This book describes a reconceptualized teacher preparation program based on a teacher residency model. Through a combination of rich description, and qualitative and quantitative program data, the authors make the case that university programs focused on the communities they serve can ensure more effective, learner-ready teachers who remain in the profession longer. By providing a detailed blueprint for program development, the contents of this book will be of value and interest to educational leaders, policymakers, and researchers"--




A Case for Change in Teacher Preparation


Book Description

Why are preservice teachers often told by veteran teachers to "forget what you learned" in teacher preparation programs? Why is there a gap between pedagogical practices employed at schools and those taught at colleges and universities? And why, after evidence from countless studies, are there still so few teachers of color working in our rapidly diversifying schools? These questions are addressed in this book, which describes a reconceptualized teacher preparation program based on a teacher residency model. This model is grounded in three core beliefs: first, that teacher quality is a shared responsibility between universities and school districts; second, that all students have a right to high-quality teachers who are as racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse as the students they teach; and third, that for education to be transformative, future educators must have the right balance of theoretical knowledge and practical experiences grounded in specific contexts. Through a combination of rich description and qualitative and quantitative program data, the authors make the case that university programs focused on the communities they serve can ensure more effective, learner-ready teachers who remain in the profession longer. By providing a detailed blueprint for program development, the contents of this book will be of value and interest to educational leaders, policy makers, and researchers.




Innovation and Accountability in Teacher Education


Book Description

This is the foundational book for the new series, Teacher Education, Learning Innovation and Accountability. The book canvasses research, practice and policy perspectives in teacher education across diverse geographic, social and political contexts. It explores the lifespan of teacher development from initial preparation through to graduate classroom practice as it occurs in an intensifying culture of standards and regulation. The characterization of initial teacher education (ITE) in a crucible of change permeates throughout the book. The chapters open up new ways of thinking about innovation and accountability in ITE and the professionalization of teaching, exploring fundamental questions, such as “Who are the actors in teacher preparation and how do they interact? How can we learn about the quality of teacher education? Where can we hear the voices of teacher educators and preservice teachers, as well as school-based teacher educators? What are the new and emerging roles of others in teacher education who have not been involved previously, including employing authorities?” (p. 22). While the book provides responses to these and other provocative questions, it also offers new insights into innovative teacher education from a wide range of policy and practice contexts.




The Education We Need for a Future We Can′t Predict


Book Description

Improve Schools and Transform Education In order for educational systems to change, we must reevaluate deep-seated beliefs about learning, teaching, schooling, and race that perpetuate inequitable opportunities and outcomes. Hatch, Corson, and Gerth van den Berg challenge the narrative when it comes to the "grammar of schooling"--or the conventional structures, practices, and beliefs that define educational experiences for so many children—to cast a new vision of what school could be. The book addresses current systemic problems and solutions as it: Highlights global examples of successful school change Describes strategies that improve educational opportunities and performance Explores promising approaches in developing new learning opportunities Outlines conditions for supporting wide-scale educational improvement This provocative book approaches education reform by highlighting what works, while also demonstrating what can be accomplished if we redefine conventional schools. We can make the schools we have more efficient, more effective, and more equitable, all while creating powerful opportunities to support all aspects of students’ development. "You won’t find a better book on system change in education than this one. We learn why schools don’t change; how they can improve; what it takes to change a system; and, in the final analysis, the possibilities of system change. Above all, The Education We Need renders complexity into clarity as the writing is so clear and compelling. A powerful read on a topic of utmost importance." ~Michael Fullan, Professor Emeritus, OISE/Universtiy of Toronto "I cannot recommend this book highly enough – Tom tackles long-standing and emerging educational issues in new ways with an impressive understanding of the challenging complexities, but also feasible possibilities, for ensuring excellence and equity for all students." ~Carol Campbell, Associate Professor, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto




Confronting Racism in Teacher Education


Book Description

Confronting Racism in Teacher Education aims to transform systematic and persistent racism through in-depth analyses of racial justice struggles and strategies in teacher education. By bringing together counternarratives of critical teacher educators, the editors of this volume present key insights from both individual and collective experiences of advancing racial justice. Written for teacher educators, higher education administrators, policy makers, and others concerned with issues of race, the book is comprised of four parts that each represent a distinct perspective on the struggle for racial justice: contributors reflect on their experiences working as educators of Color to transform the culture of predominately White institutions, navigating the challenges of whiteness within teacher education, building transformational bridges within classrooms, and training current and inservice teachers through concrete models of racial justice. By bringing together these often individualized experiences, Confronting Racism in Teacher Education reveals larger patterns that emerge of institutional racism in teacher education, and the strategies that can inspire resistance.




Leading Change in Teacher Education


Book Description

The international attempt to expand schooling despite dealing with an insufficient number of trained teachers has placed significant pressure on teacher education. Continued effort to change all aspects of teacher education, including ways of learning, methods of practice, institution interaction and assessment of teaching ability, in order to fulfil the desire to offer inclusive and equitable teaching for all, is a serious consideration. In response to this increased attention on cross-national campaigns, Leading Change in Teacher Education features discussions covering what has been done, how and why the change has happened, the journey itself and the challenges encountered along the way, alongside contributions from international academics who share their reflections and suggestions for a way forward, despite a global shortage of teachers. Strategies surrounding the design and delivery of education now centre on improving how teachers are prepared, supported and evaluated. Leading Change in Teacher Education captures the stories of international change leaders by: Providing details of both the successes and challenges faced Presenting innovative practices in teacher education from around the world Describing the strategies put in place to ensure that teacher education is developing The topics discussed are relevant for educators, policymakers and international organizations involved in the design and implementation of programmes in teacher education. Leading Change in Teacher Education is also an invaluable resource for those looking to increase the changes occurring within teacher education.




Pre-Service and In-Service Teacher Education: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications


Book Description

As with any industry, the education sector goes through frequent changes due to modern technological advancements. It is every educator’s duty to keep up with these shifting requirements and alter their teaching style to best fit the needs of their classroom. Pre-Service and In-Service Teacher Education: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications explores the current state of pre-service teacher programs as well as continuing education initiatives for in-service educators. It also emphasizes the growing role of technology in teacher skill development and training as well as key pedagogical developments and methods. Highlighting a range of topics such as teacher preparation programs, teaching standards, and fieldwork and practicum experiences, this multi-volume book is designed for pre-service teachers, teacher educators, researchers, professionals, and academics in the education field.




The Teacher Wars


Book Description

In her groundbreaking history of 175 years of American education, Dana Goldstein finds answers in the past to the controversies that plague our public schools today. Teaching is a wildly contentious profession in America, one attacked and admired in equal measure. In The Teacher Wars, a rich, lively, and unprecedented history of public school teaching, Dana Goldstein reveals that teachers have been similarly embattled for nearly two centuries. From the genteel founding of the common schools movement in the nineteenth century to the violent inner-city teacher strikes of the 1960s and '70s, from the dispatching of Northeastern women to frontier schoolhouses to the founding of Teach for America on the Princeton University campus in 1989, Goldstein shows that the same issues have continued to bedevil us: Who should teach? What should be taught? Who should be held accountable for how our children learn? She uncovers the surprising roots of hot button issues, from teacher tenure to charter schools, and finds that recent popular ideas to improve schools—instituting merit pay, evaluating teachers by student test scores, ranking and firing veteran teachers, and recruiting “elite” graduates to teach—are all approaches that have been tried in the past without producing widespread change. And she also discovers an emerging effort that stands a real chance of transforming our schools for the better: drawing on the best practices of the three million public school teachers we already have in order to improve learning throughout our nation’s classrooms. The Teacher Wars upends the conversation about American education by bringing the lessons of history to bear on the dilemmas we confront today. By asking “How did we get here?” Dana Goldstein brilliantly illuminates the path forward.




Promoting Qualitative Research Methods for Critical Reflection and Change


Book Description

The philosophical foundation of emancipatory knowledge lies in critical theory. In this paradigm, instrumental and communicative knowledge are not rejected but are limited. If we do not question current scientific and social theories and accepted truths, we may never realize how we are constrained by their inevitable distortions and errors. Without the possibility of critical questioning of ourselves and our beliefs, such constraining knowledge can be accepted by entire cultures. The research paradigm that is relevant for constructing this kind of knowledge is the critical paradigm. Data are always qualitative and have specific methods of research. Quantitative research unquestionably has a place and is fundamental to scientific advances, but qualitative research delves into what it is to be human. Through qualitative research, we gain insight into communicative knowledge, its rich nature, and the mechanisms by which communicative knowledge is formed and interpreted. Qualitative research enables the necessary exploration and critical analysis of social systems and uncovers and facilitates critical reflections on the inevitable assumptions, which shape social behavior and interaction, thereby stimulating and empowering change. Promoting Qualitative Research Methods for Critical Reflection and Change provides readers with a comprehensive array of qualitative research methods, which can be implemented in a variety of contexts for a variety of purposes. The chapters explore the impact, uses, and methodologies for qualitative research across various fields of research. This book is ideal for practitioners, researchers, academicians, and students interested in the use of qualitative research methods.




Teacher Education: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications


Book Description

Educators play a significant role in the intellectual and social development of children and young adults. Next-generation teachers can only be as strong as their own educational foundation which serves to cultivate their knowledge of the learning process, uncover best practices in the field of education, and employ leadership abilities that will inspire students of all ages. Teacher Education: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications explores the current state of pre-service teacher programs as well as continuing education initiatives for in-service educators. Emphasizing the growing role of technology in teacher skill development and training as well as key teaching methods and pedagogical developments, this multi-volume work compiles research essential to higher education professionals and administrators, educational software developers, and researchers studying pre-service and in-service teacher training.