Abstract
Among the proposed responses if not solutions to the variously identified problems of U.S. education and teacher education is the creation of clinical faculty positions in teacher-education programs. Clinical faculty are outstanding, experienced elementary and secondary school teachers who work with college and university teacher-education programs. In this article, we examine the roles and relationships of clinical faculty in university teacher-education programs to understand better (a) how clinical faculty might contribute to the improvement of teacher education, and (b) obstacles to clinical faculty becoming a regular part of teacher-education programs.
We begin by surveying the current roles of clinical faculty and their relationships with other players in teacher-education programs. Then we sketch a brief history of clinical faculty to provide perspective on the present. We conclude by critically reexamining roles and relationships and by considering implications for teacher-education reform with emphasis on the obstacles to institutionalization of clinical faculty programs.
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