Reviews research on teacher efficacy, concluding that teachers who believe they are effective set more challenging goals for themselves and their students, take responsibility for student outcomes, and persist when faced with obstacles to learning. The article suggests that efforts to improve schools should include attention to teacher efficacy.…

New interactive technologies create new roles for teachers, present opportunities for and barriers to effective instruction, affect student and teacher satisfaction, and demand increased teacher time to learn to use the emerging interactive environments. Faculty development is vital for technical instructors to make effective use of new…

This paper explores the concept of combining collaborative action research, used in examining teacher behaviors, with group dynamics, used to facilitate new ideas and increase motivation. Specifically, the study examines the effort by one team of middle school teachers to conduct teacher team collaborative research. After reviewing the literature…

This paper addresses the dilemma faced by the requirement that educators provide appropriate and effective education for higher functioning students with autism, while lacking the necessary knowledge to provide such interventions. The first section discusses the diagnosis of autism (especially noting the presence of a "triad" of deficits…

The impact of the School Improvement Through Instructional Process (SITIP) program in Maryland schools was evaluated. The program encourages application of research on planned change to implement one or more of four instructional models: (1) Active Teaching--emphasis on direct instruction, review and discussion of homework, individually supervised…

Teaching is an applied science derived from research in human learning and behavior. The science of teaching is based on cause-effect relationships existing in three categories of teacher decisionmaking (content, learner behavior, and teaching behaviors). Several "templates" can be used to describe, interpret, and evaluate either…

Sixteen expert educators participated in a working conference on the first years of teaching. The proceedings included two commissioned papers, a panel discussion among three persons engaged in on-going induction programs, and large and small group discussions following each presentation. Kenneth Zeichner's paper, "Individual and Institutional…

In the second year of a project investigating the ability of secondary school teachers to identify high-ability students, two questions were addressed: what student characteristics influenced teachers' judgments, and why checklists appeared to have little impact on teachers' judgments. A structured approach was developed to study student…

This report is based on research comprising: (1) an examination of the paper trace of Atlantic Science Curriculum Project's (ASCP) history, including correspondence, records of meetings and conversations, contracts and curriculum documents, designs and materials; (2) a review of research and theoretical literature on the relationships between…

The interaction of language and culture was examined and found to support the idea that the study of the culture of the people who speak the target language is a very important part of English as a second language (ESL) and foreign language classes. Recent curriculum frameworks developed by the Florida Department of Education were used to…

The role and status of English in Sierra Leone are examined, with attention directed to: (1) English within the education system, (2) teachers of English, (3) materials support; (4) educational administration for English teaching, (5) development and planning, (6) British support for the teaching of English, and (7) commercial opportunities.…

The recent thinking of 20 experts in the field of school improvement is represented in this collection of essays. The authors have participated in studies from the national level to the single school level, have been involved in past and present reform efforts, and have contributed to educational policy and theory. In this book they go beyond…

The importance of school organization and its impact on teachers' commitment to staff development has been highlighted in recent research. In schools that are favorably disposed toward staff development, the norms of "collegiality" and "experimentation" prevail. Staff practices fundamental to the creation and maintenance of the…

This paper consists of an examination of current thinking on the factors influencing teacher training effectiveness and of a report of preliminary findings from a study of inservice teacher education. Previous research identifies five major components of training common to most inservice programs as presentation of theory, demonstration or…

For this overview of the extent and feasibility of practitioner involvement in professional improvement, practitioners are defined as school-based professionals--teachers, aides, resource specialists, and administrators. Current thought on the need for these individuals to play major roles as decision makers in developing inservice programs is…