Teachers of Teachers Goodlad Notes

Goodlad, J. I. (1990). Teachers for our nation's schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Chapter Five: Teachers of Teachers

·      "Professors in colleges and universities who engage seriously in preparing educators for the nation's schools straddle two cultures: that of higher education and that of the K-12 educational system (p. 154)."

·      The Sample

o   Faculty perceptions regarding creating change and reform: "It was certainty of certification and accreditation restraints, more than the fact of present specific requirements, that was widely perceived as most debilitating. Many also spoke of school conditions that would quickly nullify their efforts and stultify the creativity of their most promising graduates (p. 157)."

·      The Work and Its Status

o   "Commendations of faculty had more to do with individuals and their commitment to teacher education than with the scholarly nature of the work and field (p. 162)."

o   Other faculty perceived education faculty to be second-rate scholars.

o   "...preparing teachers is very labor-intensive, not conductive to securing grants, and likely to interfere with research demands (p. 163)."

o   "The more exclusively an SCDE (school, college, or department of education) embraces teacher education (and perhaps the education of other K-12 practitioners) as its prime or sole function, the stronger the vital signs of the enterprise. Put differently, teacher education is increasingly endangered to the degree that the unit traditionally charged with its conduct - namely, the SCDE - proliferates in functions (pp. 165-166)."

·      Institutional Mission and the SCDE

o   "Prestige deprivation characterizes the teacher education enterprise generally, affecting its clarity of mission, faculty, students, and coherence of program (pp. 166-167)."

o   "Exponential growth in information and knowledge has profoundly influenced all sectors of society, but because universities are so close to the center of knowledge production, they were caught up in the rapid cultural evolution (p. 167)."

o   Adapting to Research Priorities

§  "It is reasonable to argue that faculty members are likely to be more productive when what they prefer to do fits nicely into their institution's mission. A college or university involved but not much interested in preparing teachers is not a congenial environment for a teacher educator (p. 168)."

§  Teacher education programs are perceived to have a lower status than other disciplines.

§  Research experience is valued over school-based experience: "Given a choice between an applicant for an assistant professorship with no school experience and little or no interest in teacher education but a substantial list of published research articles, and another with a short publication list but experience in schools and interesting in teacher education, the former invariably go the nod of approval in these flagships (p. 175)." (MY THOUGHTS - it may be valued in higher ed, but I doubt that it is valued with schools, which is incredibly important in forging relationships between the two institutions. Without a collaboration, the great divide will continue to exist between schools and universities.)

o   Forging a Link with the Schools

§  Schools and universities should work together.

§  Faculty want more recognition of their service work especially with regard to working with schools.

§  "A more productive approach would be for both groups - teachers and education faculty members (including teacher educators) - to determine jointly which of their self interests overlap and might be satisfied through collaboration (p. 181)." Cited from J. I. Goodlad, "Linking Schools and Universities: Symbiotic Partnerships," Occasional Paper no. 1 (Seattle: Center for Educational Renewal, College of Education, University of Washington, 1986 [rev. 1987]).

o   Institutional Mission and Tenure

§  "If the activities required of teacher educators who fulfill their function well are not rewarded at the critical career stage - gaining tenure - teacher education will suffer grievously (p. 182)."

·      Faculty Perceptions of Schools, Teaching, and Teacher Education

o   Schools

§  Unfortunately teacher education programs do not support higher level thinking skills.

o   Teaching

§  In order to improve teacher education, teacher education programs need: "...higher standards for entry into programs, provision of a solid knowledge base, programmatic blending of theory and practice, and stress on the moral imperatives of teaching and being a teacher (p. 187)."

§  Universities need to have a clear and definitive commitment to teacher education.

o   Teacher Education

§  Teacher education programs have more support within their college or department rather than from the entire institution.

§  "If colleges and universities are to continue to prepare teachers, they must make the necessary commitment and provide the moral support and resources necessary to comprehensive renewal of the education of educators, simultaneously taking the initiative in involving nearby schools in a collaborative enterprise (p. 192)."

·      Summary and Discussion

o   Institutions used to have teacher education as a primary component of their mission. That is no longer the case. Missions and goals are not aligned for teacher education.

o   "If faculty members' time and energies are to be mobilized for renewal, they must hear an alternative drumbeat and subsequently see progress toward the promises of the drumbeat: an elevation of teacher education to a central place in institutional mission, resources allocated via a formula that recognizes the high time and energy demands of a first-rate teacher education program, an equitable share of scholarship funds and support services, additional funds for creating 'teaching' schools in collaborating school districts, and faculty rewards geared to the nature of the required work (p. 195)."