Along with ed school accreditation processes, education professors believe that the entire system of university-based teacher education is in need of improvement, according to our survey of the education professoriate.? While they believe that there are many good things about the system, 66 percent of ed profs conclude that it ?needs many changes.? Another 9 percent say that it ought to undergo ?fundamental overhaul.? But are these professors open to alternatives? On the surface, it seems that they aren't. Fifty-one percent of ed profs think that teacher preparation programs administered by school districts or charter management organizations are generally a bad idea (compared to 17 percent who think they are a good idea?the rest are not sure).? Still, when asked in particular about Teach for America and other programs that place high-achieving college graduates in struggling public schools, 63 percent believe such programs to be a good idea. It seems that ed profs are wary of alternative programs in general?a natural instinct, given that these programs are their direct competitors. But even they acknowledge the success of programs like Teach for America, and at the end of the day, won't deny a student the opportunity to be in a TFA classroom.
