History Teacher Certification Standards in the States

Abstract

DURING THE LAST TWENTY YEARS, history educators have noted a sea change in the concern expressed by scholars, policymakers, and the general public about the teaching and learning of history in schools. The 1983 report, A Nation at Risk, was a catalyst for this movement with its focused attention and support for a core curriculum based on academic subjects. Subsequent movements for national goals, national standards, and history specific testing in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) illustrated the influence of A Nation at Risk and the growing concern for inclusion of history in a substantive, strengthened academic core curriculum. In concert with a rising interest in history education, concern developed about the quality of teacher education and teacher certification. Many researchers, theorists, and specialists voiced their perspective on the issue of teacher certification.' Of particular interest for history educators is the extent to which teachers of history are certified to teach the discipline and specifically what being "certified" entails. Given this context, in the spring of 2002 John J. Patrick, now professor emeritus at Indiana University, and I began to investigate the state of history education nationwide. Our study addressed teacher certification in history; content standards for teachers; content standards for students; high school graduation and exit examination requirements in