ABSTRACT
Teaching is more difficult now than ever before. Teachers confront higher expectations and greater obstacles. Students are more diverse and, because of poverty and family and cultural disintegration, are in greater need of teachers’ understanding and support. In these difficult circumstances, teachers are expected to meet students’ diverse needs while teaching them the complex cognitive and social skills believed to be essential to succeed in the next century-the ability to solve problems, think creatively, regulate one’s learning, and collaborate effectively with others (Anderson et al., 1995). Research on the development of expertise clearly shows that extensive knowledge integrated with practice is essential to enable novice teachers to attain expertise in dealing with the challenging tasks of teaching. Ironically, given the difficult conditions of teaching, some policy makers are attempting to deal with the crisis in teaching by eliminating the crucial role of the university in developing teacher expertise.
