Excellence in Teacher Education

Book excerpt: This monograph examines issues that will shape teacher education programs in the future. Following a foreword by Robert M. McClure, the monograph is organized into three chapters. The first, "Perestroika and Professionalism: The Case for Restructuring Teacher Preparation" (Linda Darling-Hammond), focuses on changes wrought by school restructuring, i.e., the creation of learner-centered schools, and implications for changes in the teacher's role and consequently for teacher education. The second, "Learning from the 'New' Schools: Lessons for Teacher Education" (Gary A. Griffin), discusses school-level issues in restructuring, rethinking, and re-enacting teacher education. The final chapter, "The Case for Restructuring Teacher Preparation" (Arthur E. Wise), espouses seven propositions to promote education reform: (1) intensive teacher education; (2) rigorous teacher certification and licensing standards; (3) increased teacher involvement in decision-making processes that affect how they teach; (4) teacher unions with a better balance between inherent responsibilities to protect members and long-term responsibility for advancing the profession; (5) teacher professionalism that demands an accountability system; (6) improved teachers' salaries and working conditions; and (7) more attention to the less fortunate of teachers' clientele. (LL)