Teacher Education
Reform in the
United States
John Cogan
University of Minnesota
Marilyn Johnston
Ohio State University
Challenges
Politicization
Futures
One challenge: The numbers and
diversity in U.S. schools
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53 million students
3 million teachers
92,000 public schools
15,000 school districts
40% of the students are minorities
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17% Black, 16 Hispanic, 4% Asian, 1% Native Amer.
1 in 5 speaks another language at home
1 in 4 comes from a single-family home
84% of teachers are White
Challenge:
Attrition of New Teachers
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Most leave after three years and more
than 50% leave within 5 years
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Need for induction and mentorship
programs
Challenge:
Two Competing Perspectives
Market-based rationale
Job training/preparation, free
market competition
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Role of education is to move the
economy forward
Top down administration—
bureaucratic reforms
Based on transferable models
Competitive, individualistic, tests
used for selection/hiring
Democratic rationale
Equity/equality/citizenship
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Role of education is to create a
just and democratic society
Requires national leadership &
community dialogue
Civic education; problem solving,
critical thinking, collaboration
Only consistent licensure and
accreditation will insure that all
children have qualified teachers.
Challenge:
Accountability
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Increased calls for accountability
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this began with the Reagan’s “A Nation at
Risk" report in the early 1980s, it has
gained momentum with the Bush
administration in Washington.
Challenge:
Alternative Certification
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Would bypass the traditional undergraduate and
post-graduate faculties of education completely
as well as traditional certification/licensure and
accreditation programs.
Ignored in this "alternative" debate is the fact
that the recent post-graduate or fifth year
programs ARE alternative themselves.
Politicization of
education through
federal policy
Consequence:
lack of state autonomy and
local policy making
Arguments included in
Arguments from within the
federal policies:
profession:
 Administrators should be
 Standards, licensure, &
free to hire within an open
accreditation necessary
market—quality control
 Need to recruit stronger
 Should recruit persons
students into high quality
with strong subject matter
programs
knowledge
 Teachers need a
 Criteria should include
comprehensive set of abilities
general knowledge,
& knowledges beyond subject
verbal ability and subject
matter
matter knowledge
 Knowledge of teaching &
 Subject matter tests are
learning highly correlates with
sufficient to measure
academic achievement
teaching competence
Trained worker vs. professional teacher
Assaults on Teacher Education
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Will assaults on undergraduate and postgraduate teacher education continue?
Differences in Ed School and administration
perspectives
Argue for approaches that will remove
roadblocks that keep “qualified persons” from
becoming teachers
Will fulfill the needs for teachers in large urban
districts
Business, Religion & Politics
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Business leaders have aligned with
conservative politicians and
fundamentalist Christian special interest
groups.
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Private sector involvement in education.
Future of Teacher
Education?
In general, it will depend on. . . .
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Who wins the national Presidential election
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Intensity of the backlash against No Child
Left Behind
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Perpetuation of current national budget
trends, e.g., www.TrueMajority.org/oreo
It will depend on
teacher education identity
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viewed by their colleagues as "soft", not
content based, and an unnecessary
appendage of the institution
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larger institution has no interest in teacher
education per se in the long term.
It will depend on
educating our publics
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need to take a more aggressive posture
with respect to educating our "publics"
about what we do and why
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need to make a stronger case for why
schools need “educated” professionals
It will depend on
teacher shortages
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Federal government projected (in 1999) that we would
need 1.7 to 2.7 new teachers in 2008.
In 1987-88, only 2.7 entered without certification (or on
provisional certification)--In 1990-2000 5.7% entered
without certification.
Urban schools have more uncertified teachers than
suburban schools—especially with new teachers, 11%
more of them are not certified if they teach in urban (cf.
to suburban schools).
See K.C. Lai & Joe Hong’s policy paper: “Crash Courses
for Untrained Teachers”.
It will depend on
support for new teachers
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Need professional induction and
mentorship programs for new teachers
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Where these have been introduced, more
than 80% of the new teachers remain on
the job after the first five years of service.
It will depend on which rationale will have currency
Market rationale will mean:
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increased pressure on
teacher education
programs
increased use of
business models for
running schools &
universities
increased use of tests to
evaluate teachers and
schools
increased use of free
market competition to
solve educational
problems
Democratic rationale will mean:
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further emphasis on
questions of equity and
social justice
standards used to create
a broader curriculum
increased use of social
justice arguments to
justify the need for
licensure
wider use of performance
assessment for teachers
and students