This research synthesis aims to more fully understand the current teacher retention crisis in the United States through a re-conceptualization of what is meant by a teaching career. Currently, research is divided into two broad categories: traditional research on teacher retention and traditional research on teachers' professional lives. This…

This article presents a longitudinal case study of a child named Cody identified with specific language impairment. Cody was followed from 4 to 19 years of age, at which time he compared his social skills with those of peers: "It's like they're driving sports car and I'm on a tricycle." His initial long- and short-term intervention goals are…

This paper presents findings from interviews conducted with 33 women educators working at varying levels of education and in diverse fields, and who varied in terms of age, ethnicity, race, family structure, geographic location, and sexual orientation. Semi-structured interviews, building on variants of this question, "Does who you are as…

The Department of Defense (DOD) operates 59 elementary and secondary schools serving over a dozen military bases in the continental United States. Periodically, questions have been raised concerning the continuing need for such schools. In 2002, DOD commissioned the Donahue Institute of the University of Massachusetts to examine the potential for…

The chapter examines the ways in which qualitative and quantitative methods support each other in research on occupational stress. Qualitative methods include eliciting from workers unconstrained descriptions of work experiences, careful first-hand observations of the workplace, and participant-observers describing "from the inside" a…

Due to the magnitude of "NCLB", the pressure on teachers has increased to perhaps immeasurable proportions. One could argue that "NCLB" has ramifications for nearly all aspects of the teaching-learning process, including classroom-based assessment. The purpose of this study was to describe teachers' beliefs about…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate mothers' and fathers' perception of their child's health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among 10- to 12-year-old Icelandic children with or without chronic health condition or illness. A total of 912 Icelandic parents (510 mothers and 402 fathers) and 480 children (209 boys and 271 girls) participated in…

This paper explores important points of similarity and difference between schools and universities on three dimensions: (1) the working life and goals of participants in schools and universities; (2) the leadership and organisation of the institutions; and (3) the curriculum, teaching and learning that takes place. The aim is to discover by…

This study is an effort to examine principals' perceptions of workplace politics and its influence on their productivity and efficacy. A survey was used to explore the perceptions of current school administrators with regard to workplace politics. The instrument was disseminated to principals serving public schools in one Midwestern state in the…

For those rural schools and communities across the country facing declining student enrollment, there are no easy answers. But there are steps policymakers and communities can take to help cushion the negative impact of declining enrollment on schools to ensure that "no child left behind" also means "no place left behind." This report details 20…

When a student's challenging behavior can not be resolved through either traditional disciplinary approaches or schoolwide positive behavior support (PBS), what can a teacher do next? This manual has effective solutions for educators from grades K-12. Developed specifically for use with children with persistent or severe behavior problems, this…

In 2004, the National Endowment for the Arts published "Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America." This detailed study showed that Americans in almost every demographic group were reading fiction, poetry, and drama--and books in general--at significantly lower rates than 10 or 20 years earlier. The declines were steepest among…

Influential texts have long identified principals as being essential to school success. Accordingly, high expectations and pressures have attended the principalship and affected the professionals who occupy it. This exploration asked three interrelated questions: What pressures have urban school principals typically faced, in the past and today?…

Joinedupdesignforschools explores how good design can improve the quality of life in schools by listening to the voices of the clients: pupils. The programme is an initiative in the United Kingdom that joins client teams of pupils with the country's leading design practices to provide solutions for practical improvements in schools, to highlight…

In 2005, an estimated 48 million children aged 0-18 years--12 percent of all children in sub-Saharan Africa--were orphans, and that number is expected to rise to 53 million by 2010. One quarter of all orphans are orphaned because of AIDS, and about 2.6 million children are currently infected with HIV. Untreated, most children born with HIV will…