69ý

Teacher Preparation

Congress Orders Thorough Study Of Teacher Education Programs

By Julie Blair — March 03, 2004 | Corrected: February 23, 2019 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

Corrected: In the story, G. Reid Lyon was misidentified. He is the chief of the child-development and -behavior branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

For the first time since 1933, Congress has mandated a wholesale cataloging of the work done by the nation’s teacher-preparation programs, to understand better the academic content and field experiences provided to prospective teachers.

“It is intended to be an advisory report on the quality of preparation,” said Grover J. “Russ” Whitehurst, the director of the Institute of Education Sciences, the arm of the U.S. Department of Education charged with conducting the data collection. “People will read it at the state and federal levels and figure out what we’re doing well, and what needs to be changed.”

The study, tucked into a fiscal 2004 appropriations bill, will seek to answer several questions, Mr. Whitehurst said. Congress intends for existing data to be synthesized on the consistency of required coursework, how reading and math are taught, and the degree to which programs are aligned with scientific evidence on the subjects, he said.

If information does not exist, the institute has been directed to gather it.

“Are there common ways of thinking? Knowing that, we can develop standards and norms,” and professionalize the field, said G. Reid Lyon, the chief of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Mr. Lyon, who has become an influential and controversial figure in reading research, helped spearhead the concept of the teacher-preparation report along with those who work in the field.

The institute has allocated $1.5 million for the venture, which will take several years to complete, Mr. Whitehurst said. The project will more than likely be undertaken by the National Research Council.

‘Very, Very Ambitious’

The study comes as traditional teacher-training programs have come under new fire. Critics, including the Bush administration, contend they do not provide aspiring teachers with rigorous academic-content knowledge or practical skills, yet generally take four years to produce teachers.

Meanwhile, new, faster models of certification are proliferating that take only a short time to complete. Only last month, Georgia adopted a rule allowing teachers to bypass any pedagogical training whatsoever. (“Georgia Panel Eases Path to Becoming a Teacher,” Feb. 25, 2004.)

“The value-added of teacher education is going to be demonstrated if the study is set up in a way that looks at outcomes and ... the impact on student learning,” said David G. Imig, the president and chief executive officer of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, a Washington-based group that represents campus-based programs.

Many experts welcome the study, saying it will provide objective information about a field that has been inadequately documented.

Although teacher-preparation programs and the states that license their graduates must report some information about their work as part of both the federal Higher Education Act and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, there is no requirement that they compile and make public data about many aspects of their efforts.

“One of the reasons there is seemingly so much controversy is that teacher education has not been well studied,” said Arthur E. Wise, the president of the Washington-based National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, which evaluates colleges of education. “We do have a lot of small-scale studies, but the big policy questions have not been well studied. This is very, very ambitious.”

Political Purposes?

Some wonder if the data will be used for political purposes.

For example, Congress has asked teacher-preparation programs to tie their work to “scientific evidence,” an increasingly politicized term, said Karen Zumwaldt, a professor of education at Teachers College, Columbia University. “That’s a hornet’s nest,” she said. “What is ‘scientific evidence’ and how is it applied? Should that be the sole basis for educational decisions?”

Some, in fact, point to Mr. Lyon’s role in shaping the study as an indication that the information gathered will be used to quash colleges of education.

Those critics, who do not wish to be identified for fear of political retaliation, go so far as to contend that Mr. Lyon used his influence to place the study in the catchall spending bill enacted in January, rather than make it part of the Higher Education Act. The HEA is up for renewal this year and will likely be the subject of public hearings.

Mr. Lyon, an outspoken critic of traditional teacher preparation, said such theories “sound pretty Machiavellian” and hold no truth.

“This should be a productive process,” he said, “done by very objective, well-meaning bodies.”

Related Tags:

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
AI and Educational Leadership: Driving Innovation and Equity
Discover how to leverage AI to transform teaching, leadership, and administration. Network with experts and learn practical strategies.
Content provided by 
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School Climate & Safety Webinar
Investing in Success: Leading a Culture of Safety and Support
Content provided by 
Assessment K-12 Essentials Forum Making Competency-Based Learning a Reality
Join this free virtual event to hear from educators and experts working to implement competency-based education.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Teacher Preparation Opinion Ed. 69ý Face a Choice: Reform or Fade Away
If schools of education are to be revitalized, it will likely be red states leading the way, an education professor argues.
Robert Maranto
5 min read
Illustration of a college campus fading away.
Education Week + iStock
Teacher Preparation Democrats and Republicans Agree Teacher Prep Needs to Change. But How?
Teacher-prep programs "have been designed essentially to mass-produce identical educators," a dean said at a congressional hearing.
7 min read
A 1st grade teacher at Capital City Public Charter School leads a lesson about bee colonies with her students.
A 1st grade teacher at Capital City Public Charter School leads a lesson about bee colonies with her students. At Sept. 25 congressional hearing focused on the quality of the nation's teacher-preparation programs.
Allison Shelley for All4Ed
Teacher Preparation Teachers' Unions Are Starting Teacher-Prep Programs. Here's What to Know
The Washington Education Association is pioneering a teacher residency for special education. Other unions are noticing.
10 min read
Patrice Madrid, left, leads a Functional Core Program for 3rd through 5th graders as part of a teacher residency program under the guidance of staff teacher Shannon Winthrow, right, at Star Lake Elementary in Kent, Wash., on May 7, 2024.
Patrice Madrid, left, leads a special education classroom for 3rd through 5th graders as part of the Washington Education Association's teacher residency program under the guidance of staff teacher Shannon Withrow, right, at Star Lake Elementary in Kent, Wash., on May 7, 2024.
Meron Menghistab for Education Week
Teacher Preparation These Preparation Programs Are Creating a 'Tutor to Teacher' Pipeline
A new pipeline offering an authentic glimpse of the profession is growing, despite patchy financial cover.
8 min read
Photograph of an adult Black woman helping a female student with an assignment.
iStock/Getty