Comparing Education and 6 Other Fields
Publication Type:
Web ArticleYear of Publication:
2005URL:
http://www.financeproject.org/index.cfm?page=22Abstract:
In recent years, the heightened attention to teacher quality and pressure to improve achievement has left educators facing a myriad of challenges. Many believe that traditional teacher preparation and in-service training have failed to produce the level of quality demanded by the new educational environment. This new report from The Finance Project compares professional development in education -- both pre-service preparation and in-service training -- to six other professions: law, accounting, architecture, nursing, firefighting, and law enforcement. The analysis highlights several striking differences between education and the other professions. For example: Education is alone among the comparison fields in its lack of universally accepted standards for required in-service training and the identification of a single entity to enforce those standards. Also, education stands alone in allowing professionals to practice independently before they are licensed. Clinical experiences and induction programs in education are less structured and less consistently supervised than those of some other fields. And the list goes on. ( 600k PDF file)
