Focusing on teachers' practices amid a national curriculum 'implementation' project for schools identified as having high enrolments of students experiencing disadvantage, this paper uses narrative methods to illustrate what we refer to as teachers' everyday work-for-change. Teacher interview data was generated via a longitudinal multi-site case…

This article offers a critique of Ofsted's Bold Beginnings report based on the author's own experience as an early years practitioner. It draws attention to the growing 'readiness' agenda of the Department for Education (DfE) and to its focus on a primarily transmission-based model of teaching. It reaffirms the necessity of an approach to the…

This paper argues that typography can be an affective re/presentational strategy when used as a medium within the research framework of arts-based inquiry. Grounded in a larger comparative case study exploring the experiences of two elementary teachers in south Texas, the purpose of this paper is to (1) situate typography within the field of…

At its heart are the National Education Association's "Status of the American Public School Teacher" surveys, which are conducted every five years and offer unprecedented insights into the professional lives and experiences of teachers nationwide. This volume analyzes and summarizes the survey's findings, while also offering commentaries…

In this article, the author recounts her experiences with the scripted teaching of reading and describes how her observations of scripted reading lessons changed her decision on preparing teachers to make informed instructional decisions based on their knowledge of reading as an orchestration of interrelated cognitive processes. Given the number…

This follow-up study investigated teacher attitude change over one preservice and three in-service years. The most significant finding was that professional preparation is a more critical variable affecting teacher attitudes than several years of post-graduate teaching experience. (Author/GK)

Letters spanning 1965-85 chronicle one teacher's continuing education and changing experiences. For each decade, an overview of the prevailing macro-culture and its influence on the micro-world of elementary education is given. (SK)

Describes a later-entry first grade teacher at a rural school in Indiana, who has continued to teach despite a number of hurdles that would impede many educators. Demonstrates her commitment to the profession and to her school, a commitment which has continued to grow through each career stage. (RS)

Elementary teachers frequently face the challenge of teaching about their state with limited time and resources. Teaching state or regional history is a longstanding tradition in fourth grade and has been part of the social studies curriculum since the beginning of the 20th century. In addition, national and state standards include attention to…

First grade teacher Susie Jablinske talks about her teaching experience in this interview. The conversation covers her background, the role of teacher militancy on educational quality, teaching conditions in her school, and her teaching methods. (AM)

Teachers' professional learning takes place in an organisational context, in which issues of power, influence, and control can play an important part. In this article, we argue that learning how to deal with these inevitable micropolitical aspects of their work lives, constitutes an important dimension in teachers' professional development and…

The complexities surrounding the relationship between state content standards and improvements in student reading achievement are examined. A case study of one California elementary school reveals that its ideal outcomes--use of standards in curriculum planning and improved test scores--were complex, involving district initiatives, curriculum…

An elementary teacher reflects upon 18 years of experience teaching in Hawaii, moving from understanding her own culture to awareness of and sensitivity to her students' heritage. She considers her best teaching experiences the bridge building between herself and her culture and her students and their culture. (SM)

This journal of a first grade teacher is one of a continuing series of monographs initiated by the North Dakota Study Group on Evaluation. In addition to a narrative record of class discussions, the journal includes anecdotes, observations of children and their involvement in activities, interactions with parents both in and out of school, the…

Documents a conversation among five teachers regarding the conceptualization and application of curriculum integration. Drawing on recent research about the emergence of curriculum integration, the article establishes some perceived obstacles to and benefits from such integration, highlighting the teachers' observations on their ability to…