International encyclopedia of teaching and teacher education.

International encyclopedia of teaching and teacher education (2nd ed.)

Edited by L.W. Anderson Oxford: Elsevier Science, 1995. 684pp. $A230.45. ISBN 0 08 042304 3

Dr Lorin W. Anderson has edited the second edition of the International encyclopedia of teaching and teacher education, ten years after the 1985 first edition which was edited by Dr Michael J. Dunkin. It is a welcome addition to the literature. This encyclopedia, like its predecessor, provides academics and particularly students with an important and productive way to gain `an overview of a specific area of education in a relatively short time'.

As with the first edition, the authors have been chosen `to represent a wide variety of geographic and cultural perspectives' with authors drawn from North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. This diversity makes the encyclopedia invaluable. The quality of writing is uniformly high and, understandably, there are more North American authors whereas the first edition edited by Dunkin had more Australian and New Zealand authors.

There are, however, some significant changes in the way this edition has been organised. As Anderson writes in the preface:

   Some of these changes are conceptual and some theoretical; others are
   philosophical; still others are methodological. Conceptually, a fairly
   exclusionary psychological emphasis in research on teaching and learning
   has given way to a multidisciplinary point of view (which includes
   sociological and anthropological perspectives). Philosophically, the search
   for universal laws and truths has been replaced with a search for
   `conditional knowledge' (that is, the need to understand both the knowledge
   and the conditions within which this knowledge holds). Methodologically,
   structured observations and questionnaires have been complemented (and,
   unfortunately, sometimes completely replaced) by narratives or field notes
   and semistructured interviews.

There are two parts to the encyclopedia. Part A on Teaching has eight sections namely: The nature and characteristics of teachers; Theories and models of teaching; Instructional programs and strategies; Teaching skills and techniques; School and classroom factors; Students and the teaching-learning process; Teaching for specific objectives; and The study of teaching. Part B focuses on teacher education and has three sections namely: Concepts and issues in teacher education; Generic initial teacher education; and Continuing teacher education. Each of the 11 sections has an introduction by the editor setting the scene and explaining the conceptual organisation. These introductions are extremely well written and I cannot commend them too highly.

In the first section in Part A, The nature and characteristics of teachers, authors examine both similarities and differences among teachers. There are three groups of entries here: one using metaphors, another viewing these characteristics from the psychological tradition, and the other from the sociopolitical tradition. The four metaphors of teachers -- as artists; clinicians; professionals and researchers are particularly helpful for teachers as they seek to understand their own behaviour. As Anderson states, `By reading the entries in this section as set one can begin to understand teachers in a more holistic manner' (p.5).

In Section II, Theories and models of teaching, there is an overview of theories and models followed by a discussion of seven different theories and models and a conclusion about their role in teaching practice. Here Marland makes the incisive point that even though there are many teacher behaviours and pedagogical models, `the classroom actions of teachers are guided by internal frames of reference which are deeply rooted in personal experiences, especially in-school ones, and are based on interpretations of those experiences' (p.131). Section III, Instructional programs and strategies, is graced by such well-known authors as Anderson, Tamir and Hazel. It is, however, notable that there is no section related to learning outside the classroom such as in museum visits and in homes. The emphasis is clearly on learning in the classroom or laboratory. Section IV, Teaching skills and techniques, includes 28 entries focusing on planning, classroom management, teaching, and assessing and evaluating. Anderson refers to these skills as the `teacher's toolbox'. The growing international importance of homework in students' achievement is recognised in the entry by Walberg and Paschal (pp.268-271). They contrast the difficulties faced by one teacher correcting all the homework with the Japanese solution by which students are trained in small groups to evaluate each other's work, developing at the same time skills of co-operation and mutual aid. Section V, School and classroom factors, is related to the factors that frame teachers' work. Some of these are `givens', the laws and regulations that govern teachers' work in whatever country they are and others are those they impose on themselves. In the latter category are included the way teachers structure their lessons; for example, on a co-operative or a competitive basis, and those related to the ethos of a school and the way teachers design and organise their schools. According to Torper (p.308) frame factors `limit, but do not determine educational and classroom process'. Their existence in every school demands that teachers be increasingly flexible and adaptable in their role and that they work with other professionals and with families so that children learn. In the entry on class size, Finn and Voelkl pose the perennial question, `Are small classes worth the investment?' and decide, on the evidence, that the answer remains unclear. The entry by Weiner, on Gender and racial differences among students, exemplifies the growing concern among educators about this issue. The problematic nature of the concept is indicated by the statement that differences in education are stated as being used `to celebrate diversity, to denote injustice, or to ascribe inferiority and powerlessness; (p.319). Section VI, Students and the teaching-learning process, has 13 entries and shows how far we have come in understanding the complexity of knowing and differences in knowing. Section VII, Teaching for specific objectives, deals with ten different objectives each under a separate entry, such as Problem solving and assessing, by Mayer and Memory: Teaching and assessing, by Pressley and Van Meter. Section VIII is the final section in Part A and focuses on the study of teaching using information gained from a systematic study of teachers and teaching. It seems to me to echo Stenhouse's belief that the production of detailed case studies of teachers and teaching will enable us to understand the whole process much better, yet no author quotes his work.

Part B provides the greatest scope for potential and continuing researchers in the field of initial and continuing teacher education. There could be no better starting point than to review the entries in this part to gain promising research directions. It is the smaller section and begins with a group of entries on Concepts and issues in teacher education. Yet again, the organisation of the encyclopedia reflects its great value to readers wishing to have an overview of a topic in a short period of time. As Anderson states, `Concepts and issues form the building blocks for understanding and ultimately improving the quality of teacher education' (p.525). The conceptual clarity that is provided gives a great foundation for a research program in teacher education. The lack of significant and systematic research in teacher education is a world-wide phenomenon and must be tackled if the quality of teacher education is to be improved. Anderson concludes his introduction with the following plea:

   Conceptual clarity is essential if there are to be meaningful conversations
   and discussions about teacher education. Without conceptual clarity, the
   study of teacher education is difficult and substantial improvements will
   be virtually impossible. (p.527)

Section II examines Generic initial teacher education in two components namely formal coursework and field-based components. The final section, Section III, focuses on Continuing teacher education, always the area of greatest need in the teaching profession as the majority of teachers are employed in schools and it `holds the key to teacher growth and development as well as long-term, sustained improvement of schools' (p.606). The major phases considered are recruitment, employment, induction and socialisation together with inservice teacher education and onservice teacher education. By the former is meant continuing education that occurs away from the place of work while the latter refers to continuing education in the workplace, namely the school.

At this point, it is important to reiterate that this volume cites research from around the world by internationally celebrated researchers. They reveal the paucity of research in teacher education despite the importance of the field in all nations. Peretz, in writing on the Curriculum of teacher education programs, highlights three important basic curriculum issues facing teacher educators: should the curriculum focus on generic or specific aspects of the knowledge of teaching? what is the proper relationship between theory and practice? and what is the role of the innovative curriculum in teacher education? (p.546). There is so much that we do not yet know in the field of teacher education.

The papers on initial teacher education continue to present opportunities for more research. McAnish poses the question about Case methods in teacher education, distinguishing between cases as a form of pedagogy and cases methods as a form of qualitative research. After a brief history of the use of cases, he describes them as `a promising pedagogy for teacher education' although they do have disadvantages. Among other concerns, they demand skill in discussion from students and teacher educators (p.587). A promising line of empirical research is identified here, that of assessing the contribution made by teaching with cases compared with other instructional methodologies. In this time of reduced federal funding for universities, the chapter on Supervision in teacher education, by Cooper, is a very valuable overview of a variety of practices, particularly emphasising issues surrounding the triad of co-operating teacher, tertiary adviser and student and pointing to the prospect of professional development schools providing a `new' avenue to tackle these issues (p.597). Stallings, Kight and Wiseman write the section on laboratory and professional development schools. They give a brief history of these schools and decry the lack of systematic evaluation (p.603) which is necessary if they are to be extended to include more student teachers and provide a role in teacher professional development.

As is to be expected with an exemplary reference book, the encyclopedia has a list of contributors in alphabetical order with their affiliations. Of the 152 authors, 13 come from 11 Australian universities and have provided 14 contributions with Michael Dunkin and Barry Fraser each providing two. Only three of these authors write on teacher education, namely Gordon Macleod, Microteaching teacher education, and Alan Watson and Neville Hatton in a joint piece on Teacher placement and school staffing. There is also a comprehensive 16 page name index and a 28 page subject index, the latter compiled so that a reader can `locate all the references on a particular subject area within the Encyclopedia'.

There is no uniformity in regard to the provision of references for further reading. Some contributions include them and some do not. It is interesting to note the references that are cited. For some contributions, authors cite numerous examples of their own work whereas other authors allow the reader a great range of references, assuming that the author is a key contributor on the topic or would not have been asked to make the contribution.

As a cost of $A230.40 this encyclopedia is not cheap. Is it worth this high cost? Yes, as an important reference book for any library concerned with teaching and teacher education. It provides students, staff and other interested parties with an overview of a field and a set of further readings; it provides a marker on current topics in the field and finally it opens many directions for further research which is much needed in the field of teacher education.

Christine E. Deer

University of Technology, Sydney