A Framework for Research on Teacher Education Programs

Katz and Raths present a framework for use in classifying and summarizing re search on teacher education programs. The framework serves as a heuristic for investigating and identifying critical re search questions vis-a-vis teacher prep aration. Eleven interacting parameters within the framework contain a wide range of variables, including (a) pro gram goals, (b) characteristics of teacher education candidates, (c) characteristics of faculty and staff, (d) course and pro gram content, (e) program ethos, (h) ad mission, graduation and certification regulations, (i) institutional resources, (j) evaluation procedures, and (k) program impact. The authors argue that by sys tematically ordering the available litera ture and generating and testing appro priate research questions, teacher educators should be able to develop more useful theories to guide practice in the field.