Skip to main content
Article
Exploring the Nature, Facilitators, and Challenges of Program Coherence in a Case of Teacher Education Program Redesign Using Core Practices
Education Faculty Publications
  • Thomas H. Levine, University of Connecticut
  • Glenn Tatsuya Mitoma, University of Connecticut
  • Dorothea M. Anagnostopoulos, University of Connecticut
  • René Roselle, Sacred Heart University
Document Type
Peer-Reviewed Article
Publication Date
1-1-2023
Abstract

Scholars have called for promoting coherence in teacher education programs. Such coherence is often depicted as a state to be achieved. This article reconceptualizes coherence as a dynamic process affected by the simultaneous organizational realities of unity, conflict, and fragmentation; it also aims to clarify factors that can facilitate or challenge the work of enhancing teacher education program coherence. Drawing on a case study of program-wide redesign, we show that promoting coherence requires more than just maximizing unity (instructors’ agreement on means and ends). It also requires addressing conflict and recognizing fragmentation in ways that support what we term “pathway flexibility.” By highlighting the interplay of unity, conflict, and fragmentation, we offer a set of conceptual tools to understand and support the development of program coherence in teacher education.

Comments

Article first published online: July 8, 2022.

DOI
10.1177/00224871221108645
Citation Information

Levine, T. H., Mitoma, G. T., Anagnostopoulos, D. M., & Roselle, R. (2023). Exploring the nature, facilitators, and challenges of program coherence in a case of teacher education program redesign using core practices. Journal of Teacher Education, 74(1), 69-84. Doi.org/10.1177/00224871221108645