Chapter 1: Florence Barbara Stratemeyer and the Creation of Teacher Education as a Field of Inquiry

Is teacher education a field of scholarly inquiry? Can the study of teacher education programs inform scholars of the essential components of an effective curriculum for preparing future teachers? Can the study of teacher education lead to a common vision of how teachers should be prepared in a free society? Can the study of teacher education lead to the development of principles for guiding improved teacher practices for children and youth? These are some of the questions with which Florence B. Stratemeyer grappled throughout her professional career.

The most commonly used criteria in assessing the contributions of a professor in higher education, particularly a faculty member in a professional college, is to simply count their publications, add up the total dollars of their research grants and record the frequency with which their work is cited. In the case of Stratemeyer the most appropriate criteria for understanding and evaluating her contributions are two other criteria: the impact she exerted on how teacher education programs are constructed and her indirect impact through the very large number of her doctoral students. Her impact on the profession will be reviewed after a brief summary of her personal history.