Educational ?excellence? versus teacher ?professionalism?: Towards some conceptual clarity

The educational literature of the last several years is replete with continuing calls both for educational "excellence" reforms & for enhancing & upgrading the teaching "profession." Importantly, both types of calls rely on the contribution of science. The educational research-&-development community continues to push for & believe in the notion that educational innovation is based on scientific advances in understanding child development & school functioning. Similarly, many teachers & teacher educators continually call for increased classroom autonomy & SS among teachers, based on the supposedly scientific nature of their professional training. Issue is taken with both of these points. The origin & success of most educationally innovative policies are caused by the changing political, economic, & social forces visible in the country during the history of US education. Relatedly, since the science of teaching & learning takes a back seat in issues of school policy, teachers cannot & will not be able to convince the public & those in authority in the school that their insights & practices derive from any privileged understanding of the "real" needs of children. Arguing that teachers should, in fact, have more input into policy decisions in education, various strategies for improving the autonomy & control of classroom educators are reviewed & discussed. 44 References. HA