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History of Credentialing
From time to time individuals inquire about the history of teacher preparation and licensing policies in California. Therefore, we are making available via the Commission website a history which provides insight into key issues, structures and actors, beginning with 1850. The comments and opinions expressed throughout this history are attributable only to the numerous authors who contributed to this work. The Commission has not endorsed these views, nor has the Commission adopted these materials.
ESTABLISHING STATE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE QUALITY OF TEACHERS (1850 - 1952) [PDF] -- Irving G. Hendrick
Editor's Introduction:
The responsibility for certifying teacher qualifications and competence has not always been a
state function. Early in California history, that responsibility was held by schools and districts.
Hendrick, historian and educational scholar, recounts the movement to increase professionalism
in teaching through state standards and uniform governance. He describes the rising influence
of normal schools, teacher education faculty and, particularly, the University of California.
THE FISHER REFORMATION (1953-1961) [PDF] -- Sidney A. Inglis
Editor's Introduction:
In the 1950s, growing national dissatisfaction with the public school curriculum and the
preparation of teachers fed directly into the political ambitions of a young Democratic
legislator, State Senator Hugo Fisher, Armed with his party's and the Governor's
support, Fisher pressed for stronger subject matter preparation of all teachers--
elementary and secondary--and reduced emphasis of their pedagogical preparation. In
this chapter, Inglis draws upon primary documents including interviews with key players
to tell the story of the first wave of California credential reform.
SPECIALIZED INTERESTS CHALLENGE CALIFORNIA FISHER ACT (1961-1965) [PDF] -- Sidney A. Inglis
Editor's Introduction:
The Fisher Act of 1961 painted the canvas of credential structure in broad strokes. It
delegated to the State Board of Education the task of refining these concepts by defining
its key terms--like "academic" and "non-academic"--and shaping its regulations. The
task met with the ambitions of several activists Board members, who seized the
opportunity to work outside the reach of the "educationists." In doing so, however, they
came up against the strong political forces of the press, the professional organizations
with specialized interests, and college teacher education faculty. Inglis's account is
supported by interviews with key players shortly after these events.
CALIFORNIA DEVELOPS THE RYAN REFORMS (1966-1970) [PDF] -- Sidney A. Inglis
Editor's Introduction:
Leo J. Ryan, the driving force behind the Ryan Act of 1970, was an informed and astute
politician. He worked hard to educate himself and his legislative colleagues on
innovative and imaginative educational thinking of the late 1960s. He knew when to
concede without compromising his principles. He understood how to coalesce the
national drive for greater professionalization of teaching, the local press for a supply of
qualified teachers who could be flexibly assigned, and the political pressures of special
interest groups and party politics. Inglis holds both an "outsider's" and an "insider's"
view: he is an historian and, as a former staff consultant for the Commission for Teacher
Preparation and Licensing, he was responsible for interpreting the Ryan act to others.
CALIFORNIA ESTABLISHES A NEW STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY 1970s [PDF] -- Richard K. Mastain
Editor's Introduction:
In Article 1 of the Statutes, the preamble to the Teacher Preparation and Licensing Law of 1970
calls for "broad minimum standards for teacher preparation and licensing to encourage both high
standards and diversity . . ."
SENATORS BERGESON AND HART LEAD THE WAY TO REFORM IN THE 1980s [PDF] -- Ralph Brodt, Author, Linda Bond, Editor and Contributor
Editor's Introduction:
This section chronicles the major events and issues leading to the enactment of the Bergeson and Hart reforms in 1988. Brodt seeks to outline the major notions, events and forces acting on teacher credentialing reform. The complexity of the reform ideas and the stands of various organizations leave little subtlety. However, putting the ideas together and gaining enough consensus among stakeholders to pass a major reform bill was remarkably difficult.
FACING CHALLENGES AFTER CLASS SIZE REDUCTION 1990-1998
[PDF] -- Linda G. Bond, Dennis S. Tierney and Phil A. Fitch
Challenging it was. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, California began to emerge from a time of economic depression brought about by a changing economy and by government cutbacks in military spending. In addition, the Proposition 13 effort to cap local property taxes had resulted in greater state-level involvement in the funding for public education. Although California had traditionally had an activist Legislature with regard to educational issues, the beginnings of the last decade of the 20th Century brought an intensified interest in the performance of the public school system.
DEBATING TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS, FOCUSING ON TEACHER RECRUITMENT, CONTENDING WITH A BUDGET CRISIS 1998-2004
[PDF] -- Linda G. Bond
The biggest story about California is its continuing evolution into the
most culturally and economically complex society in the history of
humankind. In three decades, California has evolved from a state of 20 million
people, 75 percent of whom were white, to one of 36 million with no
ethnic majority, and from a state dominated by big industrial business
to a postindustrial melange of services, technology, resources and
trade, often termed the "New Economy."
Acknowledgements
In addition to expressing appreciation to the many authors who made this policy review possible, I would like to acknowledge the invaluable contributions of:
Dr. Grace Grant, for her service as initial editor of this history
Ms. Anne Padilla, for serving as advisor and proof-reader on the project
Ms. Dannetta Garcia, for countless hours of typing, editing and proofing the final document
Ms. Laura Lunetta, for her assistance in posting this work on the web
This effort would not have been possible without their able support and assistance.
Linda Bond, Editor