Panel calls for change in teacher education

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) has convened a Blue Ribbon Panel on Clinical Preparation and Partnerships for Improved Student Learning. The expert panel, made up of education experts and critics, calls for teacher education to be “turned upside down” by revamping programs to place clinical practice at the center of teacher preparation. This new vision of preparation also will require the development of partnerships with school districts in which teacher education becomes a shared responsibility between preK-12 schools and higher education.

The new approaches will involve changing policies and procedures in both state higher education and preK-12 education systems, including policies and practices that are no longer relevant to today’s needs. Eight states—California, Colorado, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Oregon, and Tennessee—have already agreed to implement the panel’s recommendations. For further reading, visit the NCATE website.