Whilst attendance at short, day-long courses or workshops features prominently in teachers' continuing professional development (CPD) profiles, research remains equivocal about their lasting impact. The present study addresses questions about the impact of short-course CPD in the context of a national CPD programme aimed at developing teachers'…

Questions about how best to deploy teaching assistants (TAs) are particularly opposite given the greatly increasing numbers of TAs in British schools and given findings about the difficulty effecting adult teamwork in classrooms. In six classrooms, three models of team organisation and planning for the work of teaching assistants -- "room…

The study examined the involvement of parents and other persons in the classroom. Eighty-six head teachers provided general information, and 82 teachers outlined involvement of others in their classrooms. Results indicate wide involvement, with parents involved in 87 percent of the classrooms, and others involved in all but one room. (CH)

Interviews with four teachers, one parent, one assistant, and two ancillary helpers found that classroom teams possess little structure with minimal role definition. Participants erect defenses against the lack of definition and use a process termed "fraternity" to get along with one another and camouflage uncertainties and tensions. (SK)