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Accountability and Misplaced Trust in the Accreditation of Teacher Education Programs by Arlene Adams - October 31, 2004When colleges of education seek national accreditation for their teacher education programs, there are a variety of obstacles to their success. Not all of these obstacles are a reflection of program quality. Accrediting bodies at the national or state level have different and at times conflicting requirements. Even more damaging, evaluation systems may be scheduled to be phased in too rapidly, without clear guidelines. It is likely that the programs they are evaluating will be forced to suffer the consequences of this mismanagement. This situation is a contributing factor in the undeserved negative perceptions of teacher education programs. Colleges of education should be accountable for the quality of the teachers they produce. However, the accrediting agencies should be accountable for the clarity and straightforwardness of the process. If a program fails, it should be because the program is substandard, not because the directions for documentation are unintelligible. To view the full-text for this article you must be signed-in with the appropriate membership. Please review your options below:
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- Arlene Adams
Coastal Carolina University E-mail Author ARLENE ADAMS IS associate professor in the Spadoni College of Education at Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina. Her major research interest is teachers of reading in the content areas for middle grades. Previous publications include the text Constructivist Teaching Strategies (2001) with co-editor Jessie Brown, and Handbook for Literacy Tutors (2000), both through Charles C. Thomas Publications.
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