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AMERICAN COUNCIL OF EDUCATION WANTS BETTER TEACHER TRAINING

November 14, 1999

If K-12 student performance levels are down across the country, at least one group says it is primarily due to the inadequate skills of teachers-in-training. The American Council on Education released "To Touch the Future: Transforming the Way Teachers are Taught," with a 10-point "action agenda" the nation's university and college teacher education programs should follow to improve teacher training before they reach the K-12 classrooms. The council is calling on everyone in higher education, starting with university and college presidents, to be accountable for how prepared new teachers are to teach in their specialties and use modern technology as teaching tools.

The need for improved teacher education is particularly acute for those who teach special education students, the group says, but in this era of inclusion, that means nearly every teacher in the school.

According to the council, the best way to change an ineffective teacher education program is from the top down, employing college and university presidents to spread the word and convert everyone else within the institution to support the cause. The approach is similar to that which some special ed. advocacy groups say works when implementing improvements within primary and secondary schools. In a nutshell, little change will actually be accomplished if the school principal and school district administrators, who control the district purse strings, do not support the plan, the groups argue.

In higher education, college and university presidents have an immense amount of power and control over the direction their institutions take, the council says, but they should recognize they have an equally large responsibility to the teacher education programs that will help determine the educational proficiency of America's children. "Colleges and universities by themselves are not in a position to remedy all the shortcomings of the nation's schools. But they can do more-much more-to strengthen the performance of teachers," the council said.

"If civic responsibility alone is insufficient to lead presidents, governing boards, and faculties to sharpen their focus on the quality of teacher education, academic self-interest demands that they do so. For if the teachers we prepare are less prepared than they should be and the schools fail, colleges and universities will be drained of their very lifeblood-high-achieving, well-prepared entering college students."

The council argues college and university presidents should put teacher education at the top of their schools' agendas, making clear to all involved the importance of that program to the school's overall mission. Assuming these efforts prompt everyone within the institution to support the goal of molding better teachers, the council says each institution should conduct a campus-wide review of its teacher education programs, to determine specific areas that most need attention.

According to the council, every college and university could stand to improve the connection between the teacher education program and the rest of the arts and sciences programs. "The essential competencies of an effective teacher are command of subject, preparation in effective pedagogical practice and high overall academic performance," the group concluded. In addition, teacher education programs generally need better equipment, facilities and staff to train future teachers in how to effectively use technology in the classroom. Finally, colleges and universities should take a more active role in supporting, monitoring and mentoring their former students once they enter the classroom, the council said.

Such efforts toward supporting teachers when they enter the work force could have an important impact on special education teachers, the council says. "The inherent difficulties and emotional toll associated with teaching students with special needs lead to attrition rates for special education teachers that exceed those for general teachers by about one-third, and more continuing teachers transfer out of special education than into special education," the council said. Compounding the problem is the fact that many special ed. teachers are pressed into service in that field without adequate training, the council said, noting 33 percent of new special education teachers and 10 percent of all special ed. teachers are uncertified for their assignments.8