Arizona allows charters to be granted by local school boards, the state board of education, or gubernatorially appointed boards. Regulatory loopholes allow multiple campuses, private school conversions, and outside-of-district charters. Market-based choice depends on political support, a strong state government, and enormous parental and teacher…

Roads Scholars, a teacher-driven, interdisciplinary student service program, represented the completion of a goal the author had set when he first became Centennial High School's principal five years earlier--to create an environment where staff members felt empowered to dream, create, and implement programs without seeking his consent. To…

This paper describes a framework which captures the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of teacher leaders who demonstrate the ability to work effectively with students and peers in their own classrooms and beyond. Data come from 10 in-depth studies of recognized, urban, middle-school teachers. During the study, participants came together twice…

This study investigated professional development as provided through the Teacher Leadership Academy (TLA) model used in rural Illinois area school districts and district consortia. Surveys were distributed to TLA participants that sought their perceptions of the desirability, involvement, and feasibility of school reform in general and the…

Analyzes the relationship between educational development and Malaysia's sociopolitical and economic context. Under the Vision 2020 rubric, liberalized educational policies are leading to a more democratic, privatized, and decentralized educational system. Curricular revisions stressing basic skills, moral values, and individual development are…

A high-school department chair and English teacher switched jobs with a university-based teacher educator. In this paper, they define their shared vision of student-centered learning, describe how to create a student-centered environment, explain how to implement student-centered activities, provide an example involving the colonial period in…

A staff development program in two western states helps professionals in rural school systems provide comprehensive transition services to students with disabilities. The program was designed to be relevant to rural constituents and to overcome the lack of understanding of local needs by university personnel. A vision statement relating to desired…

The principles and practices of multicultural education became the heart of one middle school teacher education program. The five principles included fostering inter/intragroup harmony through learning communities, targeting social justice and affirmation of diversity, empowering students and teachers, seeing things from multiple perspectives, and…

Explores issues related to defining teacher leadership and discusses the implications for teacher education and schools through a synthesis of the literature. Also presents a university-school collaborative framework for the development of leadership in preservice and inservice teachers. (Author/SM)

Effective teacher education should guide preservice and practicing teachers in comprehending and facilitating educational concepts and pedagogical practices that examine and promote equity for all learners. Teachers and young learners benefit from sundry opportunities to recognize their self identities and to celebrate both individual and shared…

Like most states, Pennsylvania has a state accountability system that is aligned with the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and requires that students reach adequate yearly progress (AYP) goals on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) in reading and mathematics at the end of grades 3, 5, 8, and 11 in…

Argues that democratisation, localization, and national identity are indivisible in Taiwan. Explains that social pressure groups, teachers, and parents are empowered in policy making processes, while the power of school officials to respond to these groups is limited. Discusses the role of school curriculum in promoting ethnic cultures and…