Teacher Education and Education Reform (TEER)

Teacher Education and Education Reform (TEER)

Project TEER is a collaborative and multidisciplinary research team of nine scholars led by a renowned teacher education scholar Dr. Marilyn Cochran-Smith at Boston College. As a group, we are interested in and driven by a concern over the influence of neoliberal education reform initiatives on teaching and teacher education, specifically how dominant reform initiatives marginalize equity and justice goals in education. For four years (2014 – 2018), our team worked together to track major teacher education accountability initiatives in the United States and evaluate their influences on teacher education and teachers’ work. Several key questions guided our research: How do the reform initiatives frame the problem of and solution for teacher education? What are the underlying assumptions of teaching, student learning, and teacher education in these reform initiatives? And, what does the evidence say about their influences on teachers’ work and teacher education?

TEER Group presented AT the AERA annual meeting in San Antonio, TX (Left to right: Dr. Juan Gabriel Sánchez, Dr. Elizabeth Stringer Keefe, Dr. Beatriz Fernandez, Dr. Marilyn Cochran-Smith, Dr. Wen-Chia Chang, Dr. Megina Baker, Dr. Stephani Burton, Dr. Molly Cummings Carney, Dr. Andrew Miller)
Publications based on the work of Project TEER

Cochran-Smith, M., Carney, M. C., Keefe, E. S., Burton, S., Chang, W.-C., Fernández, M. B., Miller, A. F., Sánchez, J. G., & Baker, M. (2018). Reclaiming accountability in teacher education. Teachers College Press.

Cochran-Smith, M., Keefe, E. S., Chang, W.-C., & Carney, M. C. (2018). NEPC Review: “2018 Teacher Prep Review.” National Education Policy Center.

Cochran-Smith, M., Keefe, E. S., Chang, W.-C., & Carney, M. C. (2018). Review of “2018 State Teacher Policy Best Practices Guide.” National Education Policy Center.

Cochran-Smith, M., Baker, M., Burton, S., Chang, W.-C., Carney, M., Fernandez, M. B., Keefe, E. S., Miller, A. F., & Sanchez, J. G. (2017). The accountability era in US teacher education: Looking back, looking forward. European Journal of Teacher Education, 1-17.

Cochran-Smith, M., Baker, M., Burton, S., Carney, M. C., Chang, W.-C., Fernandez, M. B., Keefe, E. S., Miller, A. F., Sanchez, J. G., & Stern, R. (2017). Teacher quality and teacher education policy: The U.S. case and its implications. In M. Akiba & G. LeTendre (Eds.), The Routledge international handbook of teacher quality and policy. Routledge.

Cochran-Smith, M., Baker, M., Chang, W.-C., Fernandez, M. B., & Keefe, E. S. (2017). Review of “Within Our Grasp: Achieving Higher Admissions Standards in Teacher Prep”. National Education Policy Center.

Cochran-Smith, M., Stern, R., Sánchez, J. G., Miller, A. F., Keefe, E. S., Fernandez, M. B., Chang, W.-C., Carney, M. C., Burton, S., & Baker, M. (2016). Holding teacher preparation accountable: A review of claims and evidence. National Education Policy Center.

Awards received for Reclaiming Accountability in Teacher Education

2020 AACTE Outstanding Book Award

2019 Society of Professors of Education Outstanding Book Award

2019 American Educational Research Association/Division K Exemplary Research in Teaching and Teacher Education Award

2018 American Educational Studies Association Critic’s Choice Book Award