Preparing Teachers In Times Of Change

"This book is about teacher education reform. The book aims to stimulate renewed debate in teacher education in Australia and elsewhere."--Introd.

Pressures for reform in teacher education have begun to take on the same sense of urgency as school reform. Those faculties of education who have been strong advocates for change in the schools now find themselves the subject of similar pressures from governmental policy makers. Attempts at change have taken place in many different countries and jurisdictions around the world.; This book details, through a series of international vignettes, how teachers are responding to the changing times and social contexts in which they do their work. The authors hold the view that changes are inevitable in teacher education but what is not clear is who will control the changes and whether the end result will actually improve the preparation of teachers. The theme of the book is that the reform of teacher education should be informed by intelligent debate and that any attempt to restructure teacher preparation should result from a careful reconceptualisation of it purposes and processes.

Based on rapid advances in what is known about how people learn andhow to teach effectively, this important book examines the coreconcepts and central pedagogies that should be at the heart of anyteacher education program. Stemming from the results of acommission sponsored by the National Academy of Education,Preparing Teachers for a Changing World recommends thecreation of an informed teacher education curriculum with thecommon elements that represent state-of-the-art standards for theprofession. Written for teacher educators in both traditional andalternative programs, university and school system leaders,teachers, staff development professionals, researchers, andeducational policymakers, the book addresses the key foundationalknowledge for teaching and discusses how to implement thatknowledge within the classroom. Preparing Teachers for a Changing World recommends that,in addition to strong subject matter knowledge, all new teachershave a basic understanding of how people learn and develop, as wellas how children acquire and use language, which is the currency ofeducation. In addition, the book suggests that teachingprofessionals must be able to apply that knowledge in developingcurriculum that attends to students' needs, the demands of thecontent, and the social purposes of education: in teaching specificsubject matter to diverse students, in managing the classroom,assessing student performance, and using technology in theclassroom.

Why is teacher education policy significant - politically, sociologically and educationally? While the importance of practice in teacher education has long been recognised, the significance of policy has only been fully appreciated more recently. Teacher education in times of change offers a critical examination of teacher education policy in the UK and Ireland over the past three decades, since the first intervention of government in the curriculum. Written by a research group from five countries, it makes international comparisons, and covers broader developments in professional learning, to place these key issues and lessons in a wider context.

What is the main role for teachers today? Why is the Council of Europe dealing with education, and teacher education in particular? How is educational thinking guided by visions of a future society desirable for all? How, in the midst of a fierce battle for curriculum time, can education for human rights, democracy and mutual understanding be embedded in the existing curricula? What are the values underlying our educational visions? The aim of this publication is to offer a few answers to these and many other questions. Above all, its purpose is to contribute to the ongoing debate, more necessary than ever, on the role of teachers and teacher education in the broader context of teaching and learning for a sustainable democratic society.

Teachers play a critical role in the success of their students, both academically and in regard to long term outcomes such as higher education participation and economic attainment. Expectations for teachers are increasing due to changing learning standards and a rapidly diversifying student population. At the same time, there are perceptions that the teaching workforce may be shifting toward a younger and less experienced demographic. These actual and perceived changes raise important questions about the ways teacher education may need to evolve in order to ensure that educators are able to meet the needs of students and provide them with classroom experiences that will put them on the path to future success. Changing Expectations for the K-12 Teacher Workforce: Policies, Preservice Education, Professional Development, and the Workplace explores the impact of the changing landscape of K-12 education and the potential for expansion of effective models, programs, and practices for teacher education. This report explores factors that contribute to understanding the current teacher workforce, changing expectations for teaching and learning, trends and developments in the teacher labor market, preservice teacher education, and opportunities for learning in the workplace and in-service professional development.

Teachers make a difference. The success of any plan for improving educational outcomes depends on the teachers who carry it out and thus on the abilities of those attracted to the field and their preparation. Yet there are many questions about how teachers are being prepared and how they ought to be prepared. Yet, teacher preparation is often treated as an afterthought in discussions of improving the public education system. Preparing Teachers addresses the issue of teacher preparation with specific attention to reading, mathematics, and science. The book evaluates the characteristics of the candidates who enter teacher preparation programs, the sorts of instruction and experiences teacher candidates receive in preparation programs, and the extent that the required instruction and experiences are consistent with converging scientific evidence. Preparing Teachers also identifies a need for a data collection model to provide valid and reliable information about the content knowledge, pedagogical competence, and effectiveness of graduates from the various kinds of teacher preparation programs. Federal and state policy makers need reliable, outcomes-based information to make sound decisions, and teacher educators need to know how best to contribute to the development of effective teachers. Clearer understanding of the content and character of effective teacher preparation is critical to improving it and to ensuring that the same critiques and questions are not being repeated 10 years from now.

Basic reading proficiency is key to success in all content areas, but attending to students’ literacy development remains a challenge for many teachers, especially after the primary grades. Knowledge to Support the Teaching of Reading presents recommendations for the essential knowledge about the development, acquisition, and teaching of language and literacy skills that teachers need to master and use. This important book is one result of an initiative of the National Academy of Education's Committee on Teacher Education, whose members have been charged with the task of creating a core knowledge base for teacher education.