Since 1983, with the publication of five well-known national reports calling for reform in education,[2] the later release of other reports by prestigious groups (such as the Carnegie Task Force on Teaching as a Profession and the Holmes Group), and the enactment of approximately 700 state statutes focused on school reform,[3] the push for excellence has overshadowed earlier commitments to equity in schools. As Orlich writes, In at least one instance, implementing the proposals of these two groups [Carnegie and Holmes] would have the same undesirable effect: reducing the number of minority teachers from few to virtually none. [4] This movement for excellence has had a narrowing effect on the level of social consciousness concerning sex and race equity in schools and in society. Any movement which restricts the growth of equity should be examined critically; for it, both as a topic of study and as a fact in practice, is a necessary component of an excellent and complete preparation of teachers in a pluralistic society. By providing programs that both preach and practice equity principles, today\u27s teacher educators assist the next generation of teachers to develop a contextual understanding of the field of teaching and a heightened social consciousness of their role in education
