Teacher Education in Institutions of Higher Education: A History of Common Good

Overview & Synopsis

In this article, I discuss seldom-acknowledged ways in which university teacher preparation has served the common good throughout its history. I focus on the U.S., where teacher education has contributed to the larger university mission to serve society. I offer a new synthesis of varied strands of historical scholarship to explain how, for two centuries, teacher-education institutions and programs have responded to public needs to sustain college enrollments and expand access to higher learning, and have been pivotal in expanding student diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education. Understanding that preparing teachers in the university rather than through alternative routes serves the common good enhances research on teacher education in the U.S. as well as in other countries.