Ritual and rationality in teacher education reform

ABSTRACT: Commissioned reports calling for the reform of U.S. secondary schools have been followed by reports and recommendations for the reform of teacher educa-tion. Within the broader framework of the calls for school reform and the relative-ly brief history of institutionalized teacher education, this article critically ex-amines the nature and implications of these calls. The article focuses on mean-ings given to reform, including the possibility of reform as ritual, and the technical rationality that seems to underlie the reform proposals. Consideration is then given to how teacher education reform efforts might address critical questions— particularly questions of purpose, substance, and value—that are largely neglected by the recent calls. (Note: Unless otherwise indicated, teacher education refers to the initial or preservice preparation of teachers.) i- he ritual and rhetoric of reform are a way of life in the United States. Schools and teacher educa-tion programs are simultaneously lauded, looked to for resolution of societal problems, and criticized. At any time, commendation, hope, or critique may predominate; all three, however, are interwoven in elemen-tary, secondary, and university education in the U.S. Schools are lauded for bringing a mass culture to a disparate citizenry and for sustaining meritocracy. They are looked to for alleviation o