"Jianping Shen's substantially documented thesis is that schools of education lost their identity in a process of evolution that increasingly distanced them from schooling without providing the desired status in academia they sought. He proposes that the resulting ambiguity be resolved through making the education of educators central to their mission. Such will require the autonomy to develop reward structures consistent with this mission and the disciplined learnings essential to existing comfortably and productively in the cultures of both public schooling and higher education. This necessary reorientation is now under way in more than a few settings but will not come easily." (John I. Goodlad, Professor of Education Emeritus, University
of Washington; Co-Director, Center for Educational Renewal, University of Washington; President, Institute for Educational Inquiry)
"Now and then one encounters superb, old-fashioned, thorough scholarship. This book is just such an example.It adds greatly to our understanding of one of the nation's most important, most misunderstood, most often criticized, but least examined institutions, schools of education. Because of the author's comprehensive knowledge of what went before, and addition of what is now possible to know, this book begins to render what was once impenetrable and esoteric, newly important and interesting.
Jianping Shen has captured and distilled the best of prior analyses and has added to them useful contemporary survey and questionnaire information. New light is thus shed on old conditions and old conditions are now subjected to new interpretations. This book will now become the touchstone from which other serious future scholars will launch their efforts." (James W. Guthrie, Director, Peabody Center for Education Policy; Professor for Public Policy and Educational Leadership, Vanderbilt University)
"Jianping Shen's 'The School of Education: Its Mission, Faculty, and Reward Structure' is an important addition to the growing body of literature about schools, colleges, and departments of education (SCDEs) and their faculties. Through careful analysis and summary of much extant scholarship on the topic and an interweaving of the results of a personal study, Shen shows the extraordinarily complex lives of education faculties, the tensions resulting between attempting to serve the demands of academic life and those of the world of practice, the cleavage between A & S faculty and education faculty. While these are not new issues, Shen presents them in compelling ways.
Shen's two proposed conditions necessary to restore SCDE identity - 'schools of education must have the autonomy to develop their own reward systems...and the higher education institution itself must also emphasize teaching more' - are provocative and deserving of consideration. Shen's analysis makes the point strongly that these conditions are appropriate. Whether they can be met or not is a crucial question, but Shen has provided good material for those who would argue for changed conditions." (Edward R. Ducharme, Professor of Education Emeritus, University of Vermont; Levitt Distinguished Professor of Education, Drake University; Editor, 'Journal of Teacher Education')
