Review of Research Comparing Teacher Education Programs.

Overview & Synopsis

This paper reviews studies that evaluate and compare teacher education programs. Literature was sought from the "Educational Index,""Current Index to Journals in Education,""Resources in Education,""Educational Resources Information Center,""Statistical Reference Index," and U.S. Government documents. Thirty-four studies provide a framework for: comparing teacher education programs with each other or with programs in other fields to determine trends and tendencies as well as differences; evaluating specific competencies associated with teacher education programs; discussing program effects on students; and comparing traditional and alternative teacher education programs. Based on the small number of studies available further comparisons between various types of teacher education programs are warranted. Future research should include a greater emphasis on observations of the participants; documentation of the actual practice of acquired teaching skills; and studies which investigate the kinds of teachers produced by particular programs, differences in outcomes of various programs, and the impact of adjunct versus full-time faculty teaching professional courses. Charts displaying the focus, scope, methodology, and findings of the studies comprise half the document. (Contains 35 references.) (LL)