While many parents are familiar with Montessori schooling at the preschool level, Montessori elementary and middle schools have also proliferated in the past decade. This book provides an overview of Montessori theory and practice, with special emphasis on the child's elementary school years. Chapter 1 presents an introduction to the origin and…

A design for a completely revised professional section of the National Teacher Examinations Common Examinations is proposed. These exams must be designed to assess the central competency that a teacher must acquire and maintain: skill in professional problem-solving. Professional problems are not all soluble, and the solutions to many of those…

Narrative research creates such political issues as validation of narrative knowledge, relationships of power and authority, and distinction between the public and private domains. Issues examined are the politics of research in a "narrative" mode, which challenges traditional research; issues of power in collaborative research…

Examines the problems of "truth" in the use of narratives to study teaching, highlighting the themes of universality and control that have dominated the study of teaching and conceptions of relationships between research and social policy. The paper examines issues underlying debates over proper understanding of narrative to promote…

Offers educational practitioners information about terms that can be used in discussions of historical concepts with students. Discusses the development of children's understanding of historical time concepts at four age spans. Also discusses terms in social studies textbooks that teachers may need to translate for students. (BB)

Presents personal observations of cultural differences regarding the family, time, sex role conventions, and the process of being and becoming among children and parents in Licodia Eubea, Sicily. Supports increased understanding of students' cultural heritages and differences on the part of American elementary school teachers in multicultural…

Maintains that the Montessori mathematics curriculum is on the cutting edge of meeting the mathematical literacy needs of elementary and middle school students. Discusses how the curriculum adheres to and uses the five standards or goals for school mathematics as stated by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (BB)

Proposes changes in elementary curriculum and Montessori teacher training programs that would strengthen the impact of Montessori's views on the education of children ages 6 to 12. Discusses reorganizing the elementary curriculum around broad themes or stories that would serve as paths introducing children to the broader world of learning and be…

Discusses research on teacher beliefs, highlighting teacher attitudes toward mainstreaming students with disabilities. It proposes a conceptualized approach to teacher preparation and suggests drawing methods from the counseling education discipline, for example, clarifying processes and bibliotherapy. (SM)

Describes how teachers' casual talk is, in fact, instruction and can have as much effect as direct instruction. Examines the impact on students of the teacher's language behaviors and how changes in those behaviors can change student classroom responses. (ET)

The authors argue that stability and change are in a dialectical relationship in the schools. The voices of stability, policymakers, administrators, and some teacher educators, focus on products of education; but the voices of teachers, heard throughout the book, call out for change and recognition of the hardships of teaching. (SLD)

Examines questions on establishing a valid education for impoverished black students and offers suggestions to assist in correcting this group's disenchantment with the public schools. Questions concern teacher education for poor black students, how teachers can encourage poor black students to learn, and how teachers can identify gifted minority…

Provides an overview of issues and practice associated with the integration of handicapped students into regular education settings. Emphasizes the differences between mainstreaming and federally mandated provision of educational services in the "least restrictive environment." Discusses the changing roles of elementary school teachers…

Suggests ways for teachers to help elementary school children connect with history by enhancing their natural interest in stories. The approaches, adaptable to any age and topic, include using children's literature, acting, and storytelling. Stories of the past provide a base upon which children build larger ideas about history. (SM)

Describes three typical routes by which people become early childhood professionals: the traditional, parental, and serendipitous routes. Discusses the conceptual model of the career lattice, which the National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development plans to promote. (LB)