A Practice-Based Theory of Professional Education

In 1999, Ball and Cohen proposed a practice-based theory of professional education, which would end inadequate professional development efforts with a more comprehensive approach. Their work has been referenced over the past decade, yet there have been limited attempts to actualize their ideals and research their implications. In this article, I describe Teach For America’s Teaching as Leadership framework and professional development model as a practice-based curriculum and pedagogy of teacher education that could be used as a model for a variety of stakeholders. I include a discussion of directions for future research on frameworks for teaching.