Ed school professors resist teaching practical skills

Jay Matthews

Amid the chatter about the Obama administration's Race to the Top funds, NBC's Education Nation programs and the release of the film "Waiting For 'Superman'" (warning: I am in it), I am not hearing much about how education schools fit into this new 'saving our schools' ferment. A new survey of education school professors reveals traditional teacher training institutes are trying, sort of, to adjust, but still resist giving top priority to the hottest topic among young teachers, learning how to manage the kids.

When researchers Steve Farkas and Ann Duffett asked 716 randomly selected teacher educators at four-year colleges and universities about major challenges for new teachers these days, they did not seem that excited about them.

Only 24 percent said it was "absolutely essential" to produce "teachers who understand how to work with the state's standards, tests and accountability systems."

Only 37 percent gave the highest priority to developing "teachers who maintain discipline and order in the classroom." Only 39 percent said the same about creating "teachers who are trained to address the challenges of high-needs students in urban districts."

Posted by Jim Zellmer at October 3, 2010 5:02 AM
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