A Framework for the Preparation of Accomplished Career and Technical Education Teachers

Reforms in teacher preparation continue to spark national interest. In a statewide reform effort to improve teacher quality in Georgia, the State Department of Education, Board of Regents, and Professional Standards Commission have all adopted the Georgia Framework for Accomplished Teaching ( Georgia Department of Education, 2003 .). The Georgia Systemic Teacher Education Program ( GSTEP, n.d. ) developed this framework with a grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The Georgia Framework provides a description of accomplished teaching using six broad categories of teaching skills and abilities: curriculum and content, knowledge of students and their learning, learning environments, assessment, planning and instruction, and professionalism. This qualitative study focused on a Career and Technical Education (CTE) preservice teacher education program that has been structured around the Georgia Framework. Student teachers provided in-depth reflections on their skills and abilities in the six broad areas described in the Framework. Findings support use of the Georgia Framework for Accomplished Teaching in CTE teacher preparation. Students felt most prepared in the areas of curriculum and content, knowledge of students and their learning, planning and instruction, and professionalism. Students felt less prepared in the areas of learning environments and assessment.