Kenneth M. Zeichner

Rethinking the Connections Between Campus Courses and Field Experiences in College- and University-Based Teacher Education

This article examines a variety of work currently going on across the country in newly created hybrid spaces to more closely connect campus courses and field experiences in university-based preservice teacher education. It is argued that the old paradigm of university-based teacher education where academic knowledge is viewed as the authoritative source of knowledge about teaching needs to change to one where there is a nonhierarchical interplay between academic, practitioner, and community expertise. It is argued that this new epistemology for teacher education will create expanded learning opportunities for prospective teachers that will better prepare them to be successful in enacting complex teaching practices.

Are the Effects of University Teacher Education 'Washed Out' by School Experience?:

or college is absolved from any responsibility in the development of the traditional perspectives that eventually emerge, and the major source of socialization influence is the schools (Fuller & Bown, 1975). Given the highly consistent results of numerous longitudinal and cross-sectional studies of education students and teachers at various points in their professional careers, this view seems highly plausible. However, a number of investigators both in the United States and the United Kingdom have recently begun to raise many questions about it. This paper will summarize the evidence related to three different interpretations of the data on college and school impact on the socialization of teachers, and will discuss the implications of these interpretations for practice in teacher education and for research on the processes of occupational socialization.

Myths and Realities: Field-Based Experiences in Preservice Teacher Education.

This paper examines the arguments related to two currently popular yet contradictory myths concerning the value of field-based experiences in preservice teacher education. A myth is defined as a set of widely held beliefs that give meaning to events independent of the truth or falsity of the beliefs (see Edelman, 1977). Following the presentation of the two myths, the validity of each position is assessed though examination of the empirical literature on field-based experences. Finally, drawing on recent conceptual developments made in the study of occupational socialization, suggestions are made for practice in teacher education

The New Scholarship in Teacher Education

This article, based on Ken Zeichners 1998 Division K Vice-Presidential address, traces the development of teacher education research in the U.S. over the last 21 years. Five different segments of the new scholarship in teacher education are discussed together with their contributions to policy and practice in teacher education: survey research, case studies of teacher education programs, conceptual and historical research, studies of learning to teach, and examinations of the nature and impact of teacher education activities including self-study research. The development of Division K in AERA and the role and status of teacher education in research universities are discussed in relation to the development of this field of educational research.

The Impact of the Student Teaching Experience on the Development of Teacher Perspectives

Questions persist, according to the authors, with respect to how much influence student teaching plays in the teacher socializa tion process. Some researchers, such as Lortie, argue that the socialization of teachers occurs largely through the internaliza tion of teacher models experienced during the thousands of hours that individuals spend as pupils in classrooms. Others suggest that the prospective teachers latent culture is relatively unimportant, that student teaching does have a significant impact on the development of teachers — an effect which is strengthened during the early years of a teachers career. Find ings reported in this study tend to support the latent culture perspective; however, the authors also challenge Lortie by suggesting a view of student teacher socialization that is more negotiated and interactive; findings suggest that what student teachers bring to their teaching experience gives direction to socialization but does not totally determine the outcome of the socialization process.

Action research and reflective teaching in preservice teacher education: A case study from the United States

Abstract Following a discussion of different conceptions of reflective teaching, the social reconstructionist view of reflection that underlies the University of Wisconsin-Madison elementary teacher education program is described and then defended in relation to existing inequalities in the United States. This orientation to reflection stresses a commitment by teacher educators to both social justice and to an ethic of care. Various tensions that arise from this dual commitment are discussed. Following a discussion of the place of action research in the Wisconsin student teaching curriculum and of the way in which action research is facilitated by one supervisor, the written reports of action research projects completed by 18 student teachers during 1988–1989 are then analyzed for evidence of the favored view of reflective thinking. The authors speculate about why they did not find as much evidence of attention to the critical domain of reflection as they had hoped for and suggest several possible changes in the student teaching course that grow out of their analysis of action research reports.

The teaching portfolio in US teacher education programs: what we know and what we need to know☆

Abstract Teaching portfolios have become commonplace in the US in teacher education programs, in the process of granting an initial teaching license, in teacher recertification, and in National Board certification. This paper focuses on the use of teaching portfolios in preservice teacher education programs and analyzes the various ways in which portfolios have been conceptualized and implemented. A conceptual framework is proposed to enable researchers to describe the conditions of portfolio use. A presentation of the conditions of portfolio use will enable a greater understanding of the ways in which teaching portfolios impact teacher development and the quality of teacher assessments under different conditions of use. The paper concludes with a discussion of the key issues that have emerged in the use of teaching portfolios in preservice teacher education in the US.

Action research for educational reform: remodelling action research theories and practices in local contexts

This paper explores how action research theories and practices are remodelled in local contexts and used to support educational reform. From an analysis of 46 publications from the period 2000–2008, five ‘variations’ in the globalized theory and practice of action research are identified: action research in times of political upheaval and transition; action research as a state‐sponsored means of reforming schooling; co‐option of action research by Western governments and school systems to control teachers; action research as a university‐led reform movement; and action research as locally‐sponsored systemic reform sustained over time. A common feature in these ‘variations’ of action research is the importance each demonstrates of working towards a resolution of the impetus for action with the reflective process of inquiry and knowledge generation, to generate new practices. The paper also offers a framework to enable the analysis of how action research differs in local settings within and across national boundaries. The paper ends by suggesting that the emerging variations of action research in many countries during the period 2000–2008 can be construed as an example of Appadurai’s ‘globalization from below’, in which teacher‐action‐researchers contribute knowledge and learning from multiple local sites about the process of effective educational reform.

Accumulating Knowledge across Self-Studies in Teacher Education.

This article examines the issue of strengthening self-study research in teacher education by consciously situating individual studies within coherent research programs on particular substantive issues. Although acknowledging the positive professional development impact of self-study on teacher educators, this article calls for more closely connecting the self-studies of teacher educators to the mainstream of teacher education research so that the voices of practicing teacher educators are incorporated into syntheses of research on particular aspects of teacher education. The article rejects the dualism of research either contributing to greater theoretical understanding or to the improvement of practice and argues that self-study research should attempt to work on both goals simultaneously.

Teacher research as professional development for P–12 educators in the USA[1]

Abstract This article reviews selected research related to the professional development impact of school-based teacher research programs for P-12 educators in the USA. Following the presentation of a framework that describes the dimensions of variation in P-12 teacher research in the USA, the article examines the results of several studies of school-based teacher research programs and identifies several conditions under which school-based teacher research becomes a transformative professional development activity for teachers.