Redefining Teacher Development (Teachers, Teaching and Learning)

Has any occupational group been the subject of as much research as elementary or primary school teachers? Written by a former elementary school teacher, this intensive study considers how the foundations of the ongoing teacher reform movement have appealed to researchers through its successive stages. By tracing these ideas back to their historical roots, Jonathan Neufeld illustrates how they actually descend from the physical and biological sciences rather than from student/teacher relationships. Neufeld’s in-depth analysis of economic trends during the 20^th century shows how economic and educational reforms are closely related. He demonstrates how the century-long movement to develop teachers became obsessed with turning them into soldiers of a failing economy.