It is widely recognized today that a teacher's surrounding professional community inevitably affects the kind of teaching that students are offered. However, until recently, it has been difficult to quantify and systematically study the nature of professional relationships in schools and districts. The articles in this special issue provide a…

Kathleen McEvoy describes her experience after achieving tenure at Washington & Jefferson College (Pennsylvania). She reflects on how she could have better prepared for her post-tenure academic existence and how the teaching profession could do a better job managing the earning of tenure. In retrospect she realizes that she may have been able…