Proposed reforms in education call for, among other things: developing K-12 schools as field sites for teacher education; professionalizing teachers to give them a greater voice in carrying out the responsibilities of their positions; and providing the opportunity for lifelong career development for teachers. Schools and colleges or universities…

The 1982 Yearbook of the Association for the Education of Teachers in Science (AETS) is the second in a series of three AETS yearbooks in which Ralph Tyler's 1949 curriculum rationale is used to analyze science curriculum. This publication is focused on the secondary school science curriculum (the 1981 yearbook was concerned with teaching science…

Recent concern for the quality of education has placed pressure on school administrators to assess and upgrade the competency of their teaching staff. No simple formula exists for measuring teacher competency, however, nor are any new methods guaranteed to improve the quality of instruction. Nevertheless, through a combination of clinical…

This learning package on factors that determine and influence Hispanic parental involvement is designed for implementation either in a workshop atmosphere or through individual study. The package includes an overview of the topic; a comprehensive search of the ERIC database; a lecture giving an overview on the topic; copies of articles and…

Recent educational reform efforts have sought to restructure schools, changing the character of school culture and creating a need for a nontraditional approach to inservice teacher education. Inservice projects have been implemented which attempt to prepare practicing teachers for restructured schools and as participants in the restructuring…

The theme of the eighth yearbook of the Association for the Education of Teachers in Science (AETS) involves the improvement of instructional practices in science at the middle school level. An initial chapter provides an operational definition of the middle school. Five chapters follow which provide information on various sources of educational…

This learning package on parents as tutors in reading and writing is designed for implementation either in a workshop atmosphere or through individual study. The package includes a bibliography consisting of 42 selected document resumes from the ERIC database; a lecture/overview on the topic by Carl B. Smith, seven articles on the topic, most of…

Although much research on staff development is unenlightening for school administrators, a few studies have useful findings. The four studies reviewed here suggest a number of guidelines for choosing staff development programs. The best programs appear to be those that do not utilize lectures but instead emphasize demonstrations and opportunities…

Though the benefits of working with families are documented, teacher education programs and school districts offer limited educational opportunities to new teachers. Until recently, most state certification departments did not require courses on family involvement in preservice education. During the late 1990s, the number of states requiring that…

This digest discusses the issue of safe, disciplined, drug-free schools, one of the six national goals for American education established as a result of the February 1990 education summit. The importance of including substance use in comprehensive school health education (as well as other content areas of the curriculum) is stressed, noting that…

Language teachers recognize that improving their foreign language proficiency is an ongoing process. New ways of evaluating teachers' language skills, and curriculum changes emphasizing performance highlight skill inadequacies. Many teachers have not reached functional language levels, and language skill upgrading is a more relevant issue than…

This monograph on the development of teachers' careers synthesizes researchers' prescriptions for early-, mid-, and late-career professional development; and describes successful programs that demonstrate sensitivity to the stages of teachers' growth. The first chapter, "Teachers' Career Development," reviews current adult- and career-stage…

Ten research reports related to mathematics education are abstracted and analyzed. Five of the reports deal with aspects of mathematics instructional practices, four with areas of learning theory, and one with student achievement. Research related to mathematics education which was reported in RIE and CIJE between July and September 1980 is…

Reflective practice can be beneficial to preservice and inservice teacher professional development. This digest reviews the concept, levels, techniques for, and benefits of reflective practice. Donald Schon introduced the concept in 1987, and since then, many schools, colleges, and departments of education have begun designing teacher education…

This digest presents recommendations for a staff development program for a multilingual multicultural teaching staff that has been tested and shown to be effective. Effective instruction in bilingual and multicultural schools requires that teachers combine a sophisticated knowledge of subject matter with a wide repertoire of teaching strategies…