Eight Questions on Teacher Preparation: What Does the Research Say?

By Michael Allen

Allen, M. (2003). Eight Questions on Teacher Preparation: What Does the Research Say? Denver, CO: Education Commission of the States.

Full report available here.

Summary by Nick Read, NDTAC | nread@air.org
 

This 2003 report compiled by the Education Commission of the States outlines effective strategies for educating and training teachers. The report reviewed the large body of research on teacher preparation from 92 studies and is helpful for policymakers, teachers and educators, and others who would like to know more about teacher preparation.

In reviewing the body of literature on teacher preparation, the authors focused on the following eight questions:

1. To what extent does subject matter knowledge contribute to the effectiveness of a teacher?
2. To what extent does pedagogical coursework contribute to a teacher’s effectiveness?
3. To what extent does high-quality field experience prior to certification contribute to a teacher’s effectiveness?
4. Are there “alternative route” programs that graduate high percentages of effective new teachers with average or higher-than-average rates of teacher retention?
5. Are there any teacher preparation strategies that are likely to increase the effectiveness of new teachers in hard-to-staff and low-performing schools?
6. Is setting more stringent teacher preparation program entrance requirements or conducting more selective screening of program candidates likely to ensure that prospective teachers will be more effective?
7. Does the accreditation of teacher preparation programs contribute significantly to the likelihood their graduates will be effective and will remain in the classroom?
8. Do institutional warranties for new teachers contribute to the likelihood that recent graduates of those institutions will be effective?

Each question was accompanied by a related subquestion and the report includes a detailed description of the findings and policy implications for each of the eight questions. The overall conclusion was that research on teacher preparation does provide some guidance for policymakers and others in the areas of coursework, field experience, and alternative approaches to teacher preparation.

The report also offers several recommendations for improving the amount and quality of the research. These recommendations include making education research more responsive to the needs of policymakers and practitioners; strengthening research capacity by increasing overall investment and defining a strategic and coordinated research agenda; ensuring the research on teacher preparation defines more precisely the questions that need to be addressed and the data that need to be gathered; making the connections to student achievement as explicit as possible; and creating a culture in which all education stakeholders use solid research fairly in making policy decisions.

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