Teachers are leaving the profession at alarming rates. As a result, retaining novice teachers has become a major concern for policy makers, school districts, administrators, and teaching staff throughout the United States. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of novice teacher induction support structures in a southwestern…

This study examined a state-wide, policy-directed teacher evaluation model implemented across public schools and educator preparation programs. Such models are grounded in a theory of action that situates teacher learning within social relationships, yet does not account for the complexity of systems. Results challenge policy's implicit theory…

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore perceptions of pre-service and mentor teachers regarding the level of integrating technology in the curriculum of 21 selected classrooms in eight rural school districts in Southeast Texas. The following research questions guided this phenomenological study: 1. What are…

Teachers of students with visual impairments and paraeducators who work with students with visual impairments were surveyed to determine if previous research related to the competencies needed by teachers who supervise paraeducators applied to this subset of special educators. Both groups confirmed the importance of the competencies, but…

The Texas Education Agency's Social Studies Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills results show an achievement gap between males and females for every criteria on every test given since 2003. The most dramatic achievement difference is in the area of "traditional" U.S. History. The Texas results mimic a gender gap reported by College…

To obtain a realistic understanding of the supervisory role perception of the elementary principal, a 10-item questionnaire was sent to 400 elementary principals and teachers throughout Texas. They rank ordered both real and ideal role dimensions and agreed that the role is not what it should be. Principals now serve as disciplinarians but do not…

This paper, part of a larger study conducted by the Research and Development Center for Teacher Education at the University of Texas at Austin, presents findings regarding what expectations are brought to student teaching by student teachers, cooperating teachers, and university supervisors. The expectations of 93 student teachers, 91 cooperating…