The Governance of Teacher Education.

Overview & Synopsis

This paper develops three theses: 1) education generally and teacher education in particular are disadvantaged by faulty governance systems and structures; 2) many of the problems of education stem directly or indirectly from these faulty structures; and 3) there is urgent need for a whole new set of assumptions about the governance of teacher education. The varying interrelationships between the disciplines, the professional schools, and the professions are examined through the use of the concepts of systems, subsystems, and suprasystems. Although teacher education is a subsystem of the university, it also forms a part of the suprasystems of governmental units, the profession, and the community, and there is need for a collaborative relationship between teacher education/university/profession and school unit/community state. Some conclusions indicate that education should be viewed as the training function of the teaching profession; teacher education should be regarded as a professional school; there should be less emphasis on teacher education as an all-university function; accountability and responsiveness should be sharply defined; and local and state government responsibility should be reduced. (MBM)