Teacher quality has become a hot topic. Everyone wants to measure it, reward it, or improve it. One reason for this interest is the evidence that teachers differ dramatically in their ability to raise student test scores. Another reason for the current interest in teacher quality is that recent No Child Left Behind requirements focus on highly…

This study examined the effects of peer coaching on mathematics teaching practices and teacher beliefs about their capacity to have an impact on student learning. Twelve teachers in grades 3 and 6 participated in a brief but intensive professional development program over six months. The program focused on effective mathematics teaching strategies…

In the current political context, researchers have, as Ivor Goodson (1992) earlier argued, a special obligation: "to assure that "the teachers' voice" is heard, heard loudly, heard articulately." But not just any "voice" will do--teacher troubles need to be tightly linked to issues, biography to history. On every front, directly and indirectly,…

With the introduction of free primary education throughout Africa over the past 20 years, the demand for more qualified teachers has grown tremendously (Nilsson, 2003). Mainstream teacher education programs, typically consisting of 1-3 years of residence in teachers' colleges and some form of practice teaching, are unable to meet this…

A number of recent studies have shown that teachers are unevenly distributed across schools: compared to other students, students who are low-income, minority, limited-English proficient, low-performing, and/or from urban contexts tend to be taught by substantially less qualified teachers. Consequently, many researchers have analyzed how teachers…

The goal of "teacher quality for all" is proving difficult to achieve in many countries, especially in rural areas, yet teacher quality is a key determinant of students' participation rates and achievement levels. It also affects the attainment of social justice in terms of equity in educational quality for students. One contributor to…

Available resources and indicators of high quality inclusive practices are presented in this compilation. Assembling many different resources in one place allows for easy comparison of potential indicators of quality. Excerpts and adaptations of the resources are intended to provide some familiarity with the content of each resource and encourage…

"Alabama Education News" is published monthly except for June, July, and December by the Alabama Department of Education. This publication, authorized by Section 16-2-4 of the "Code of Alabama", as recompiled in 1975, is a public service of the Alabama Department of Education designed to inform citizens and educators about…

Teachers who are not well prepared for ELL students struggle to address their needs in the classroom: How can I teach the students if I don't speak their language? What do I do when the students don't understand? If myths and misconceptions about those learning a new language are accepted, the type and quality of instruction for ELL students can…

The "2013 State Preschool Yearbook" is the newest edition of our annual report profiling state-funded prekindergarten programs in the United States. This latest "Yearbook" presents data on state-funded prekindergarten during the 2012-2013 school year as well as documenting a decade of progress since the first…

This report provides educators and policymakers with information they can use to celebrate their successes, understand their unique challenges, and set meaningful goals to increase opportunity for all students. It is important to note that while AP® Exams are valid measures of students' content mastery of college-level studies in specific academic…

"Alabama Education News" is published monthly except for June, July, and December by the Alabama Department of Education. This publication, authorized by Section 16-2-4 of the "Code of Alabama", as recompiled in 1975, is a public service of the Alabama Department of Education designed to inform citizens and educators about…

Each edition of the IDRA Newsletter strives to provide many different perspectives on the issues in education topics discussed and to define its significance in the state and national dialogue. This issue focuses on Quality Teaching and includes: (1) Equity, Access and Excellence in Education for Immigrant Students (Abelardo Villarreal and Rosana…

Teacher collaboration is an essential element of substantive school change for which principals have responsibility for cultivating. As such, it is becoming increasingly important for school leaders to employ models of supervision that focus on the performance and improvement of collective teacher behavior. In this article, the authors present a…

Background: Recruitment into psychiatry is correlated with the quality of undergraduate medical school teaching programmes and with a commitment of major resources to teaching students. There is an extensive literature related to attitudes towards psychiatry but less on the learning and teaching of psychiatry. Aims: To identify the current issues…