Richard Wisniewski

The Scholarly Ethos in Schools of Education

In order to become first-rate professional schools, scholarship must be the first order of business in teacher preparation. Education, suggests Wisniewski, is a fer tile field for scholarly inquiry. Further more, the complexity of teaching and teacher education makes on-going study imperative. That study must center not only on classroom phenomena, but on the culture and ethos of the institutions responsible for training prospective teachers.

Three Scenarios for Teacher Education.

Teacher education in the United States has reached a condition where choices must be made to determine its future. I do not deal with all actors or forces that impinge on those choices. It is also not necessary to recite the familiar litany of criticisms and weaknesses ascribed to schools of education. My focus is on those accountable for the preparation of teachers and the three paths open to us. Despite compelling contrary evidence, my thesis is that it may be possible for teacher educators in selected institutions to help shape a positive future. There is little in the history of teacher education to suggest that such leadership will be forthcoming. Teacher education has long been characterized by reaction rather than fervor. In that condition it is like any other profession. At the

NELSON, JACK L., and BESAG, FRANK P. Sociological Perspectives in Education: Models for Analysis. New York: Pitt man, 1970. 230 pp.

If one accepts the new view that teacher educators for generations have placed too heavy an emphasis on methods and materials, with a consequent disregard of the dynamics of school life, books such as this one are a useful contribution to teacher preparation programs. I am of the opinion that those of us in teacher education have placed insufficient emphasis on institutional dynamics and social issues that help to explain the day-to-day behaviors of people in schools-whether they be teachers, students, administrators, or board members. Sociology of edu-