Abstract
A Seminar on Teacher Centers was convened in 1977 by the University of Chicago's Department of Education and Center for Policy Study in cooperation with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris. This volume contains the papers commissioned for the seminar. These papers report on principal issues discussed, and give participants' perspectives. An analysis is presented of several definitions and schemes for classifying teacher centers. Two major streams of influences that have shaped the experience and conceptions of teacher centers to date are traced. The European experience with teacher centers is approached from two viewpoints. The organization of teacher centers in West Germany is described with discussions on the political implications of the teacher center idea and the development and implementation of curriculum innovations. The history, structure, and role of the teacher center in England is outlined, and future trends in education are considered. Sketches are presented from six American teacher centers, providing a set of referents for comparison with the European experience. The concluding papers contain analyses of teacher center issues and discussions on policies and research. (JD)