Teacher Education in Industrialized Nations: Issues in Changing Social Contexts.

Overview & Synopsis

The original essays in this book examine reform-related issues in teacher education in Great Britain, Canada, Japan, Ukraine, the United States, and Western Europe. They also review the social context of the teacher, the economics and value of teaching, the pace of change, government policy and teacher control of the profession, and the evolving role of the teacher and education system in the face of political and social upheaval. Following an introduction titled "Teacher Education as a Global Issue" (Nobuo K. Shimahara), the eight original essays in the volume are organized by chapter as follows: (1) "Toward a Social Geography of Teacher Education" (Andy Hargreaves); (2) "The Lowly Status of Teacher Education in the United States: The Impact of Markets and the Implications for Reform" (David F. Labaree); (3) "Work in Teacher Education: A Current Assessment of U.S. Teacher Education" (Daniel P. Liston); (4) "A Nation at Rest: The Contexts for Change in Teacher Education in Canada" (Ivor F. Goodson); (5) "Teacher Education Reform in Japan: Ideological and Control Issues" (Nobuo K. Shimahara); (6) "Ukraine's Reconstructive Process in Education: School Reform, Teacher Education, and School Psychology" (Ivan Z. Holowinsky); (7) "Teacher Education and Education Policy in England" (Meg Maguire and Stephen J. Ball); and (8) "Teacher Education and Reform in Western Europe: Sociopolitical Contexts and Actual Reforms" (J. H. C. Vonk). Appended are tables providing information, by country, on course length of training for primary, junior secondary, and senior secondary general education teachers; and on teacher training for primary and junior secondary education--type of program, and percentage of time spent on subject studies and professional preparation. (LL)