This Digest discusses the role of the school, the community, and teacher preparation programs in alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATOD) prevention among adolescents. It proposes that a comprehensive drug abuse prevention curriculum should incorporate: (1) normative education to help students realize that use of ATOD is not the norm for…

This digest examines the knowledge base for teaching, noting that many critical decisions about educational structure, policy, and assessment rely on it. The professionalization of teaching depends on showing that teaching requires mastery of a specialized body of knowledge that is applied ethically. Serious deliberation is needed in the…

This document presents a qualitative research study and an annotated bibliography on the characteristics of superlative teachers. For "A Qualitative Study of Excellence in Teaching," Herbert Van Schaack selected and observed nine elementary and secondary school teachers and three college and university professors. The elementary and secondary…

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 second edition of an annotated bibliography and resource guide on professional development schools (PDS) provides information to facilitate the location of sources of information regarding professional development schools. The publication contains 153 annotations, only one of which was included in the first edition. Most of the resources were…

Today's teachers shortage is most severe in urban districts, which struggle to recruit and retain new teachers and face persistent gaps between white, middle class teachers and diverse students. Teachers' lack of cultural and linguistic familiarity in such situations can be damaging to the goal of ensuring that all children achieve to their…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) find that most major health problems in the United States today are caused by six categories of behavior. Comprehensive school health education programs represent one effective way of providing students with the knowledge and skills to prevent health-impairing impairing behaviors. The purpose of…

Until 1993, the discussion of teacher education reform in the literature was limited to individual authors' suggestions for a vocational education response to reform initiatives and comments on the problems posed by pressures for reform. Debate on how to pursue excellence in vocational teacher education programs focused on vocational education's…

Recent projections estimate that minorities, including African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Asians, will comprise one-third of the U.S. population. Currently, the majority of prospective teachers are White females, a situation which stands in sharp contrast to the backgrounds of the students they will teach. This digest examines…

The view discussed is that mathematics teachers are becoming a rare, if not endangered, species, and the public image of mathematics needs to be changed. The mathematics teacher is termed the crucial variable, and a need is seen for changes in mathematics teacher education. The approach described is based on the following assumptions: (1)…

This digest examines the community college's role in helping to fill the current and projected shortage of public school teachers due to increases in the number of teachers retiring and students enrolling. Teacher shortages are most evident in both urban and rural school districts and in the fields of science, mathematics and technology. The…

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 examines U.S. teacher supply and demand, including projections for the next 10 years. For the past 10 years, the supply of public elementary and secondary school teachers has grown. Currently, the number of teachers in the United States is 3.1 million, 2,666,034 of whom teach in public schools. The number is projected to increase by…

This digest reviews some of the literature on middle grades teacher preparation focusing on the following topics: (1) characteristics and needs of early adolescents (aged 10-14); (2) the kinds of schools and programs suited to early adolescents; and (3) characteristics of a teacher education curriculum that would adequately prepare teachers for…

This digest describes three teacher education program models designed to concentrate on: (1) a philosophy of middle school education; (2) an understanding of the unique psychological, social, and intellectual needs peculiar to the 10- to 14-year-old student; (3) an ability to increase student motivation; and (4) a command of subject area. The…