ABSTRACT
In a teacher education climate of increased accountability to outcome-based professional standards, there is no single policy-focused articulation of why and how social foundations matters to teacher education. This special edition of Educational Studies hopes to fill this gap. The goal is that this volume will serve as a stand-alone brief for the role and value of social foundations of education within teacher education. The social foundations field must of course be cognizant of the larger ongoing discussions concerning the viability of teacher education in the preparation of future teachers; nevertheless, it is vital that the field be able to articulate-to colleagues, department chairs, college deans, policymakers, external reviewers and examiners, and the public at large-a response to the question of "how (and why) does social foundations matter for teacher education?"
