Books in the SUNY Series, Teacher Preparation and Development series

The reform of teacher education has been a focal point of state action in industrial countries since the early 1980s. Given this convergence of educational and governmental activity, the studies presented here are a significant departure from conventional discourse on reform, bec...ause they explore the ways that social regulation and political power operate through the processes of educational reform. This book considers the reform of teacher education to be an integral part of the larger system of social regulation that takes place in the arena of schooling. Reforms in teacher education involve complex sets of interactions among and within social institutions. These interactions help shape power relations and patterns of social regulation that operate through state, university, and school interactions. Nevertheless, the patterns that give direction and value to teacher education are not easily discerned in public discussions of educational change. Instead, many of the most important regulatory aspects of teacher education reform are partly obscured by a public discourse that focuses attention on formal responses to socioeconomic events, and that tends to divert critical attention away from the power that is exercised-and the interests that are served-during reform. This volume presents studies of reform in Australia, Finland, Iceland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Although these countries differ in their political and social histories, rates and levels of industrialization, and patterns of educational practice, there is a striking commonality in both the strategies that are employed to reform teacher education, and in the nature of social regulation that is a concomitant of reform.
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School change and educational reform are discussed constantly by the media. Despite a decade of frenzied interest, there is little consensus on the most fundamental issues. The terminology of school reform remains unclear, obscured by ideological rhetoric. What is meant by terms ...such as school restructuring, site-based management, and teacher education reform ? This book examines social changes affecting education; amplifies case studies of school change; and analyzes the gap between the rhetoric and reality of educational reform. Changing American Education examines the nature of comprehensive, large-scale historical and social changes that contextualize educational reform and amplifies the meaning of lessons learned by those who have assisted in change efforts. The authors draw upon rich case material that documents the possibilities and hazards awaiting those who undertake reform of educational practice and structures. They also examine how the rhetoric of educational change may fall short of the reality, as translated to processes and practices at different levels of the enterprise.
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Relying on local, self, and historical studies, this book argues for better - not best - practices in teaching and teacher education.

This book offers a provocative look at the significant roles that imagination and intuition play in the daily operation of teachers' classrooms. The author explores the idea of creativity in education as it relates to being spontaneous, open, confident, experienced, and familiar.... Readers are invited to envision how the classroom comes alive by pondering the themes of Interaction, Connections and Context, Storytelling and Emotion-Excitement, Love, and Caring through the stories of teachers. Jagla explores ways of fostering imagination and intuition with preservice and inservice teachers and provides ways of encouraging students to use their own imaginations and intuitive processes. The book provides an exciting mix of original anecdotes, literature review, and insightful analysis.
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The authors of this book question the assumptions of the psychometric paradigm that underlie virtually all criterion-referenced and standardized tests used in North American schools. They make a compelling case for a new science of educational testing and assessment, one that shi...fts decision making from central administration to individual schools and communities. Harold Berlak argues that the concept of tests as scientific instruments validated by technical experts is anachronistic and self-contradictory. He makes a case for a contextual paradigm, an approach which assumes that consensus on educational goals and national testing programs is neither possible nor desireable. Assessment practices in a democratic society must acknowledge and affirm differences in values, beliefs, and material interests among individuals and groups over the purposes and practices of schooling.
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