Education policies in the United States and other nations have established academic standards and made teachers accountable for improved standardized test scores. Because policies can have unintended effects, in this study we investigated U.S. elementary school teachers' perceptions of their state's accountability policy, particularly its effect…

The purpose of this study was to compare pre-service elementary teachers' sense of mathematics teaching efficacy beliefs in a Turkish university and in a major American university located in the Midwest. The data for this study were collected by means of the Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument. In the Turkish sample there were 141…

Historically, the provision of special education has moved from settings isolated from children without disabilities to services in public school classrooms with non-disabled peers. As advocates began to impact civil rights legislation, the educational rights of individuals with disabilities were realized, and laws began to protect them. Public…

The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) Video Study explored instructional practices in the United States (US) in comparison with other countries that ranked higher on the 1999 TIMSS assessment, and revealed that 8th grade science teachers in the US emphasize activities over content during lessons (Roth et al.…

This study examines how teachers' collective efficacy (TCE), job stress, and the cultural dimension of collectivism are associated with job satisfaction for 500 teachers from Canada, Korea (South Korea or Republic of Korea), and the United States. Multigroup path analysis revealed that TCE predicted job satisfaction across settings. Job stress was…

In the study described in this article, fourth-grade teachers and students of different abilities and language backgrounds were interviewed before, during, and after participating in an Internet pen pal program. Results reveal that the program's authentic tasks and texts facilitated communication and enabled students to learn about a different…

The racial/ethnic populations in public schools have changed dramatically in recent years and will continue to shift to a majority non-White population. The National Center for Education Statistics (2010) reports 67.3% of the student population in urban districts is composed of students of color. Yet, the population of teachers in the United…

A random sample of primary grade teachers from across the United States was surveyed about their instructional practices in handwriting. Nine out of every ten teachers indicated that they taught handwriting, averaging 70 minutes of instruction per week. Only 12% of teachers, however, indicated that the education courses taken in college adequately…

This paper describes implementation of a Lesson Study project with third grade teachers in a small school district to study the development of the critical lenses (perspectives) necessary for meaningful lesson study work. Adapting the Lesson Study process to meet school system needs, two outside facilitators stimulated teacher thinking with math…

In this article, the author described the Poplar Street-Naledi pen pal project. The goals of this project were to provide elementary school students with a broader view of the world, to increase their social and cultural awareness, to develop content knowledge of where their pen pals live, and to determine the impact of this project on student…

This paper reports the findings of a study on pre-service teachers' background and confidence in music and visual arts education. The study involved 939 non-specialist pre-service primary teachers from five countries. Initially the paper identifies the students' perceptions of their background and confidence in relation to music and visual arts…

This study compares US and Chinese elementary mathematics teachers' beliefs about how students learn mathematics. Interviews with teachers in each country revealed that Chinese and US teachers have distinct ways of thinking about how mathematics should be taught and how students learn. Many Chinese teachers talked about developing students'…

Discussions and debates about the educational system in the United States continue to center on curriculum and school reform. However, many children in America's public schools suffer from existing "life hazards" including social isolation, poverty, neglect, drug abuse, violence, school failure, and the breakdown of traditional family…

Amid stepped-up school accountability pressures under the No Child Left Behind Act, many teachers appear to be adjusting how they do their jobs. However, principals and district leaders are not necessarily in control of those instructional changes, a new study concludes. Using data collected through surveys of math teachers, principals, and…

Upper elementary teachers won't be surprised to learn that in every state, students enrolled in grades 3 through 8 bear the brunt of educational accountability. All states test all students at these grade levels in English/language arts and mathematics. Furthermore, an increasing number of states are testing students at selected elementary and…