Secretary of Education William Bennett discusses the importance of elementary education and elementary school teachers and what he hopes "First Lessons: A Report on Elementary Education in America" will accomplish. (MT)

Discusses how educational practice is influenced by economic, political, and social forces that reside outside the schools or school district. (CM)

Responding to critics of testing, the author presents an argument in its favor--that testing is one of the ways in which a teacher may gather information necessary for student monitoring and instructional decision-making. (SJL)

This article identifies and discusses schoolwide staff development which differs from the traditional model and is based on three principles: shared responsibility, teacher empowerment, and community growth. A model teacher-run faculty development program is described. The 10-component program operates at the McCallie School (TN). (IAH)

In an experimental study, K-4 teachers were trained to foster supportive teacher-student relations and provide occasions for students to work cooperatively. Results indicate that students in experimental classes demonstrated significantly higher supportive, friendly, and spontaneous prosocial behavior. Guidelines are provided for creating…

This article provides an overview of several major themes in the reform movement and how changes brought about by school restructuring affect practicing teachers. Topics include teacher empowerment, site-based management, knowledge-work enterprise, school-university collaboration, professional development schools, whole-language instruction, and…