Mezeske, Richard J., and Mezeske, Barbara A. (2004) Finding our way: Reforming teacher education in the liberal arts setting. Reviewed by Leonard R. Goduto, Rider University

Mezeske, Richard J., and Mezeske, Barbara A. (2004) Finding our way: Reforming teacher education in the liberal arts setting. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc. Pp. xxv + 221 $29.95 ISBN: 0-8204-6178-4 Reviewed by Leonard R. Goduto Rider University February 21, 2005 Attaining accreditation by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) is a vital step for many colleges and universities to attract and retain the most promising pre-service teacher candidates. It is a lengthy process that schools of education are subjected to in order to affirm that the teacher education program meets the standards of the accrediting agency. The book, Finding Our Way, is the story of Hope College, a small liberal arts college in Michigan, facing the challenge of meeting the new, redesigned NCATE accreditation standards after having achieved a favorable accreditation status over the last thirty years. Faced with the loss of accreditation, the Hope College faculty recognized the need to link their teacher preparation program more closely to K-12 practice and that the need for improvement must be an ongoing process and not end with an accredited status. The contributing authors of each of the twelve chapters provide insight into the transformation process of how the college faculty became a professional learning community, working towards a common vision and shared goals. The book illustrates how reform in teacher education can be conceived as a design process which is systematic, planned and reflective and not just a matter of gaining the acceptance status until the next evaluation. In the opening chapter, Mezeske identifies the Six Professional Abilities of teacher candidates (effective communicator, professional collaborator, curriculum developer, problem solver, decision maker, and scholarly educator) across the three levels of the teacher education program at Hope (p. 12). Each of the abilities is described in detail and referenced in subsequent chapters of the book. In Chapters Four through Six, the authors discuss in detail, the difficulty teacher candidates reported in being prepared to teach reading, writing and effectively integrating technology into the classroom. The Hope faculty was committed to accurately assessing the needs of their pre-service teachers then became the driving force in developing the strategies to address any program deficiencies. Authors of Chapter Six on Integrating Technology, Cherup and Linklater write, “it was the determination of the teacher education faculty that instigated technology integration and it will be the teacher education faculty that moves it forward in the future” (p.122). In the final chapter, authors Dell’Olio and Mezeske emphasize the importance of the clinical components of a teacher education program. They describe how students are exposed to specific developmental field placements in a variety of settings throughout their pre-service experience, several of which are described in this section. They write that “it is a place where theory and practice must inform each other (p. 208). My only criticism about this book is the difficulty in interpreting the graphs. They are cumbersome to decipher and the explanations, when they exist, are often difficult to follow. I think that any faculty who will participate in the process of NCATE accreditation will benefit from the insightful work of the Hope College faculty. The language is clear, and a compelling case is made for viewing NCATE accreditation as an ongoing reflective practice. About the Reviewer Leonard R. Goduto, Ed.D. Dr. Goduto is an assistant professor in the Graduate School of Education at Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ. He has had extensive experience as a public school administrator.