Only about two-thirds of the newly prepared teachers graduating from the nation's colleges and universities enter the profession immediately after graduation. Currently, teacher quality too often is compromised in response to teacher demand. If teaching careers were made more attractive and competitive, and if the attrition of teachers already in the schools were reduced, the quality of teachers could be strengthened and the increased demand of the next decade could be met. One study, for example, showed that 70 percent of the seventh through 12th graders in high-poverty schools were being taught physical science by unqualified teachers. What College and University Presidents Need to Do W hile colleges and universities cannot solve all these problems, the education of the nation's teaching force will be improved dramatically if academic leaders move these matters closer to the center of the institutional mission and agenda.
Presidential leadership is essential because of the very nature of the education of teachers.
Ultimately, it is presidents who outline the agenda, define the issues, commission studies, recommend policies, set institutional priorities, call for action, and form alliances with groups beyond the campus. Presidents need to clarify and articulate the strategic connection of teacher education to the mission of the institution. Presidents and chief academic officers must lead their institutions in a reexamination of the strategic role of teacher education, determine precisely where the education of teachers fits in the overall institutional mission and agenda, and articulate the importance of the education of teachers to the campus community. Presidents should mandate a campus-wide review of the quality of their institutions' teacher education programs. The time has come for presidents to call for a comprehensive review of the character and quality of their institutions' programs for the education of teachers.