Marilyn Johnston Professor Ohio State University

1. Marilyn JohnstonProfessorOhio State University Tensions in Teacher Education Reforms in the U.S.

2. Some preliminary assumptions All descriptions of educational reforms are embedded in: • political and cultural contexts, research agendas, funding policies, and teaching practices both inside and outside teacher education • the value orientations of individuals, institutions, and governments • narratives that are never a matter of pure description or linear progress

3. and . . . • Many streams of activities/perspectives coincide in any given period. • Ideas resurface in cyclical patterns, reflecting the political context in which they exist. • Ideas that move across cultures always require cultural adaptation.

4. Telling this narrative is influenced by my attachments to: Dewey’s pragmatism and progressive education historically social constructivist and socio-cultural theories currently issues of social justice and multicultural and democratic education

5. Implementation of National Policies in the U.S. National policies vary enormously as they are put into practice: --state --school district --school building --classroom level

6. Standards-Based Reform • Standards make general statements about scope and sequence and reflect broad principles and ideologies. • Implementation of standards and evaluation of learningdetermine whether standards are used to enrich or constrain the curriculum, whether they provide rich learning or narrow training.

7. professionalization deregulation Tensions in Reform

8. professionalization standards/ standardization knowledge base authoritative discourses individual autonomy deregulation democratic goals theoretical differences internally persuasive discourses collegiality & collaboration Tensions in Reform

9. Reform Agendas Three strands: reform within the profession policy making outside the profession research within the profession

10. Reform Agendas Three strands: reform within the profession policy making outside the profession research within the profession

11. "No Child Left Behind" my opinion: This is national policy making tied to political agendas and naïve conceptions of teaching and learning. Following slides from: www.nclb.gov/next/overview/presentation/index.html

21. Secretary of Education, Rod Paige’s Annual Report – 2002 “Meeting the Highly Qualified Teachers Challenge” goal: to dismantle teacher education as we know it (Cochran-Smith, 2002, Grossman, 2003) Argues that academic standards for teachers are low, whereas the barriers that keep out “qualified” persons are high.

22. Secretary Paige continues: states must transform certification requirements “basing their programs on rigorous academic content, eliminating cumbersome requirements not based on scientific evidence, and doing more to attract highly qualified candidates from a variety of fields.”

23. Alternative Certification 40 states have adopted alternative certification options • alternative certification is most appealing in times of teacher shortage. • “In some areas teachers are better prepared than ever, while in schools that serve the greatest numbers of poor and minority children, more and more teachers are underqualified.” (Grossman, 2002) • Alternative programs are resource and labor intensive and often have high dropout rates. • There are inconsistent research results on recruitment and retention related to alternative certification (Wilson, et al, 2001)

24. Reform Agendas Three strands: reform within the profession policy making outside the profession research within the profession

25. Research Questions Marilyn Cochran-Smith divides the history of research in teaching and teacher education into 4 periods, each with a different question: --attribute question – early 1950s to 1960s What are the attributes of good teachers and teacher education programs? --effectiveness question – 1960s to mid-1980s What are the strategies and processes used by effective teachers? --knowledge question – 1980s through 1990s What should teachers know & be able to do?

26. Research on Teacher Knowledge formal and practical knowledge (Fenstermacher, 1994) pedagogical content knowledge (L. Shulman, 1987) case knowledge (J. Shulman, 1992) craft knowledge (Grimmet & MacKinnon, 1992) knowledge in action (Schon, 1983) reflection on knowledge (Griffin, 1984; Schon, 1987; Zeichner & Liston, 1987) local knowledge constructed through teacher research (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1993) & action research (Noffke, 1997)

27. Research Questions Fourth question: outcomes question – late 1990s to present What outcomes should be expected from good teaching and good teacher education?

28. Reform Agendas Three strands: reform within the profession policy making outside the profession conflict research within the profession

29. the context for changemid-1980s Two national major reports that were critical of education, particularly teacher education: 1. A National At Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform (1983) National Commission on Excellence in Education 2. Carnegie Report (1986) Carnegie Commission

30. Critiques of Teacher Education Described teacher education as: • irrelevant and lacking a scholarly knowledge base • lacking connection with the schools • poorly preparing teachers in the academic areas

31. response from within the profession Holmes Group (1986, 1990, 1995) proposed: • strong undergraduate preparation in the subjects that they teach • graduate level professional education • close connections with school-based educators (Professional Development Schools - PDSs) in centers of collaborative inquiry and professional development • deep understanding of children • sensitivity & adaptability to context & culture

32. Ohio State University • Original member of the Holmes Group • Moved to a graduate certification program (M.Ed.) • Redesigned teacher education programs and curriculum • Established Professional Development Schools (PDSs) for all certification programs – year-long school placements for students • Only faculty teach courses—consequences for program & student numbers

33. Books on School-University Partnerships

34. Reform within the profession is influenced by: teacher education knowledge base movement toward standards for teacher education professionalization of teaching

35. Within the ProfessionMovement toward Standards 1996 – What Matters Most: Teaching for America’s Future (Report of the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future -- NCTAF) 1997 - $23 million from Dept of Education to support implementation of NCTAF recommendations 1997 – Doing What Matters Most: Investing in Quality 1998 - Promising Practices: New Ways to Improve Teacher Quality (U.S. Dept of Education, 1998) 2000 – Studies of Excellence in Teacher Education (Darling-Hammond)

36. NCTAF Recommendations • reinvent teacher education & professional development • get serious about standards for students & teachers • place qualified teachers in every classroom in America • support & reward teachers’ continuing development of knowledge & skill • create schools organized to support and sustain student and teacher success

37. A qualified teacher for every classroom “We propose an audacious goal for America’s future. Within a decade-–by the year 2006—we will provide every student in America with what should be his or her educational birthright: access to competent, caring, qualified teaching in schools organized for success.” (NCTAF, 1996, p. vi)

38. Performance Based Assessment for Teacher Education National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) • Moved from inputs to outcome-based assessment • From curriculum oriented standards to performance-based standards • Focus on what teacher candidate know and are able to do Interstate New Teacher Assessment & Support Consortium (INTASC) • Board compatible standards for entry into the teaching profession • Concurrently ETS (Educational Testing Services) has developed the Praxis Assessment Series—Praxis I, II, III

39. Performance Based Assessment for Teachers National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) The mission is to: • maintain high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do (performance standards), • provide a national voluntary system certifying teachers who meet these standards, • advocate for education reforms to integrate National Board Certification in American education and to capitalize on the expertise of National Board Certified teachers. 1992-2002 – 24,000 teachers certified

40. Conceptual changes within teacher education • Moving away from training and competency models to more constructivist learning approaches • Recognition of prior knowledge, teacher decision-making and career-long professional development • Emphasis on collegiality, collaboration, networks, self-study, teacher research, action research • Emphasis on issues of equity & social justice—effects of poverty and issues of race, class, gender, disability, and difference.

41. professionalization standards/ standardization authoritative discourses a knowledge base individual autonomy deregulation democratic goals internally persuasive discourses theoretical differences collegiality & collaboration , Tensions in Reform

42. Reform Agendas Three strands: reform within the profession policy making outside the profession conflict research within the profession conflict

43. Government Funded Studies Department of Education funded 2 studies: • Wilson, Floden & Mundy (Feb, 2001) review of research on teacher preparation • National Research Council (2001), chaired by Richard Shavelson, reviewed research on the science and practice of national scientific research

44. within the profession movement toward standards and professionalization performance-based assessment for teachers & teacher education programs Advocacy of multiple approaches to research Peer-reviewed use of data and research results/interpretation outside the profession movement toward accountability and testing continuing critiques of teacher education & support for alternative paths to certification requirements for scientifically-based research selective use of data and evidence Competing Agendas