Understanding Teacher Education in Contentious Times examines how public, professional, and private or corporate agencies operate to shape teacher education and possibilities for its improvement. Teacher education programs, particularly those leading to state certification or licensure, are influenced not only by state regulations but also by required review and accreditation by an outside agency such as the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education, and are subject to various contextual pressures such as the cultures of the institutions that host them and their surrounding communities, their potential student and employer markets, strong individuals, professional organizations, history or tradition, and, increasingly, external, usually privately-funded, special interest corporations such as the National Council on Teacher Quality. Unique among books on teacher education, this volume interweaves-in historical context including emerging trends-the complex contexts in which practice and reform efforts take place and are supported or impeded.