Teacher Education Policy in the United States ─ Issues and Tensions in an Era of Evolving Expectations

What constitutes a high quality teacher education program and what standards teacher candidates should meet before receiving their teaching credential? This volume advances deep understanding of the nature and sources of policy affecting the preparation of teachers in the U.S. and the conflicts or interconnections of these policies with the broader field of education policy.

Contributions from actors in the policy world and experts representing the stakeholders are balanced and based on issues currently facing the field. Policy is viewed as evolving and political. The connection or lack thereof between policy and research is examined. Policy case studies ground the principles developed within specific chapters in practice and illustrate that policy questions and solutions are continually evolving and unsettled. Chapter-end commentaries by the editors relate the focus of each chapter to the overarching themes of the book: policy formation, policy influences, policy paradoxes, and connections to research. This volume is an essential resource for understanding and resolving today’s uncertainty and confusion over teacher education policy.

Penelope M. Earley is professor and founding director of the Center for Education Policy and Evaluation at George Mason University.

David G. Imig is Professor of the Practice in the College of Education at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Nicholas M. Michelli is Presidential Professor at The Graduate Center of The City University of New York.

Preface
Chapter 1. Teacher Education Policy Context, Nicholas M. Michelli and Penelope M. Earley
Chapter 2. Perspectives on Federal Policy
Foot-Dragging and Overreaching: The Story of Federal Teacher Policy, Frederick Hess
Federal Politics and Policy: A Misalignment of Incentives, Neal McCluskey
Editors’ Commentary
Chapter 3. Dimensions of Teacher Education Accountability: A Louisiana Perspective on Value Added, M. Jayne Fleener and Patricia D. Exner
Editors’ Commentary
Chapter 4. Changing Standards, Changing Needs: The Gauntlet of Teacher Education Reform, Catherine Emihovich, Thomas Dana, Theresa Vernetson, and Elayne Colón
Editors’ Commentary
Chapter 5. Assessing State and Federal Policies to Evaluate the Quality of Teacher Preparation programs, Ken Zeichner
Editors’ Commentary
Chapter 6. Shallow Roots: The Effect of Leaders and Leadership on State Policy, E. Lynne Weisenbach
Editors’ Commentary
Chapter 7. Partnership for Teacher Education: The Case of Montclair State University and its School-University Partnership, Ada Beth Cutler, Frank Alvarez, and Susan Taylor
Editors’ Commentary
Chapter 8. United We Stand: Divided We Fail Our Communities and Hence the Public Good, Van Dempsey and Deborah Shanley
Editors’ Commentary
Chapter 9. Teacher Education Policy and Social Justice, Marilyn Cochran-Smith and Kim Fries
Editors’ Commentary
Chapter 10. Editors’ Reflections
Making Sense of Teacher Education Policy and Moving Toward a Common World View, Nicholas M. Michelli
The Future of Teacher Education, David G. Imig
A Modest Approach to Deconstructing Teacher Education Policy. Penelope M. Earley
Glossary

Contributors