Research on teacher thinking generally has failed to take into account teacher beliefs and understandings in both research methodology and in interpretation of data. Two models prevail in research on teacher thinking. The decision making model, which has undergone several modifications, tends to focus on explaining and understanding deliberate…

Emphasis on the traditional approach in educational research has given way to the scientific approach, and, gradually, the focus of research has shifted from the teacher to include student behavior. Many variables previously associated with teacher behavior are recognized as being associated with student behavior. Future research must use previous…

The high degree of autonomy college faculty members exercise in organizing and teaching courses suggests that faculty perceptions of educational purposes, subject matter structure and importance, and expectations for student learning are major determinants of educational success. Despite diversity and local autonomy present in its system, American…

Potential "indicators" of teaching effectiveness, taken from various studies of teaching, are discussed. It is assumed that the generally accepted goals of education are to enable students to learn, acquire basic skills, and develop skills and attitudes necessary for them to become employable adults. Criteria for selecting these indicators of…

To help school boards exercise better policy control over the instructional program, researchers reviewed the literature and surveyed board members to determine how much influence boards should have over curriculum, how much influence they do have, and how much they want to have. After briefly tracing the history of board involvement, the…

The survey reported in this document was designed to establish a consensus of opinion on the necessary educational competencies of a supervising teacher and to identify the critical tasks of such a teacher. The data were gathered from 786 respondents who were classified into five groups of school personnel: early childhood, elementary, and middle…

The effectiveness of instructional development evaluation programs is assessed. It is suggested that although it is a basic tenet in instructional development that teaching improvement is closely linked to effective evaluation, it is ironical that most instructional development programs have themselves been evaluated only superficially, if at all.…

Summarizes 10 research projects that competed for the American Association of School Administrators'"Outstanding Research Presentation Award." Topics included early entry to kindergarten, Project SHAL, reading approaches, superintendents and school boards, preferred learning styles, gender bias, teacher evaluation, administrators' brain…

The purpose of this paper is four-fold. Following a brief review of recent policy recommendations, two failed attempts to restructure teacher compensation, merit pay, and career ladders are reviewed. Second, research-based recommendations for new approaches to restructuring teacher compensation are synthesized. Next, based on one of these…

Traditional objections to student involvement and recent research supporting the validity of student comments are explored. The value of student comments depends upon asking appropriate questions: deciding what should be asked, what form the questions and results should take, and what use should be made of the information. (Author/MLW)

Overviews factors influencing personnel evaluations and school improvement efforts in rural schools. Reports on a national study of elementary school teachers that revealed no relationship among personnel evaluations, student outcomes, and school improvement efforts. Suggests that school improvement programs include personnel evaluations that…

The role that evaluation can play in educational reform in China is discussed, drawing on an ongoing study of present evaluation practices and the identification, development, and evaluation of texts and materials for teaching university students about evaluation. Case studies of evaluation in Shanghai illustrate current practices. (SLD)

Discusses the difficulty of reflection in teaching given the norms of the profession and the context of the work. The article describes research on ways teachers adapt and tailor lessons to changing circumstances and class populations, and reports on teachers' reflective practices. (GLR)

Self-evaluation is becoming an essential component of both formative and summative teacher evaluation systems. This paper defines self-evaluation as the process of judging one's own performance for purposes of self-improvement. Teachers use both formal and informal methods to assess their students' classroom performance; however, when they attend…

Problems with performance assessment (PA) and multiple-choice tests (MCTs) are outlined, with reference to the literature on accountability. PA for individual teachers who should integrate their assessments with their instruction; PA as a supplement to more traditional examinations for licensure decisions; and some limited, experimental tryouts of…