Educating Preservice Teachers: The State of Affairs
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide (1) an overview of reading issues and strategies for the 21st century and beyond; (2) an analysis of interventions that could be used as models for ensuring quality and alignment in preservice teacher education; (3) an overview of the Gap Analysis of Preservice and Inservice Teacher Training of Reading Instruction: Large-Scale Survey Study (Young, Grant, Montbriand, & Therriault, in press), developed by North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL); and (4) a synthesis of the findings from reading research studies in preservice teacher education. The paper also will provide recommendations, action plans, and concluding thoughts for preservice teacher education in reading and literacy in general. The paper's primary audience is higher education (i.e., deans responsible for policies, and faculty who teach reading and/or language arts methods courses) and the state departments of education in NCREL's region.
In addition, this paper lends support to the large-scale, seven-state survey Gap Analysis study conducted by NCREL for preservice and inservice education of teachers at the elementary and secondary levels; the Professional Development for Teachers of Reading paper (Grant, Young, & Montbriand, 2001); and NCREL's Policy Issue No. 9, Improving Reading in America: Are Teachers Prepared? (Young, 2001).