Educational Researcher

This article, based on Ken Zeichner's 1998 Division K Vice-Presidential address, traces the development of teacher education research in the U.S. over the last 21 years. Five different segments of the new scholarship in teacher education are discussed together with their contributions to policy and practice in teacher education: survey research, case studies of teacher education programs, conceptual and historical research, studies of learning to teach, and examinations of the nature and impact of teacher education activities including self-study research. The development of Division K in AERA and the role and status of teacher education in research universities are discussed in relation to the development of this field of educational research.

Support for all forms of school choice—public school choice, charter schools, and public-private choice—has been growing in recent years. Arguments in favor of greater choice rest on two propositions: that choice would serve to give more control over educational decisions to parents who in turn would choose good schools for their children, and that competition between schools for students will help reduce inefficiencies in the delivery of education, and, in doing so, improve educational outcomes. This review focuses on quantitative assessments of the impact of choice on educational outcomes. Several questions are examined in detail. First, is there any evidence that the various alternatives to traditional public schools—magnet schools, charter schools, and private schools—are delivering education in a fundamentally different and more efficient fashion? In other words, after accounting for differences in the backgrounds of the students attending these schools, are they better at educating students? Second, what are the equity consequences and demographic implications of enhanced school choice? Third, how might enhanced choice affect support for traditional public schools?