Provides a theoretical background and practical methods for promoting the personal and social transformations necessary to change schools into institutions that completely respect young people. Presents methods that have been successfully used to improve teachers' listening skills and address fundamental issues surrounding trust, confidence,…

The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers are bringing peer-review and assistance resolutions to the bargaining table. Both unions seek a new unionism with a strong role in ensuring teacher quality. Some critics are skeptical about putting teachers in charge of improving their profession. (MLH)

In recent years, a number of authors have applied Foucault's theory of governmentality to an analysis of the ways in which subjectivities are constituted in contemporary workplaces. The case has been well made that through the discursive practices of neo-liberal reform of organizations workers have been reconstituted as self-regulating,…

Meaningful faculty professional development has been recognized through decades of research as an important component in effective classroom instruction. Too often, however, faculty development activities are offered by well-meaning administrators with little or no attention to faculty assessments of their own levels of competence. This study of…

The scholarship of teaching involves an understanding and application of the latest discoveries in the field of instructional excellence. This article explores how lay volunteers in churches and synagogues can implement personal research within the scholarship of teaching to improve their teaching. Two sides of the scholarship of teaching are…

The use of student evaluations of teaching performance has been an important but controversial tool in the improvement of teaching quality during the past few decades. Although student evaluations of teaching are implemented in many faculties, not everyone is convinced of the desirability and utility of these ratings. In this paper, we present the…

This paper utilizes the findings of a small research project into academics' perceptions of the value of formal qualifications in university teaching and learning to reflect upon the current status of teaching and tertiary teaching qualifications in Australia. The findings are based upon a survey of and interviews with participants and…

Reliable and current data is the foundation upon which good public policymaking is built. While California collects a good deal of data on its teaching workforce, policymakers have lacked a state-level data and analysis system to provide answers to even some of the most basic questions: How many credential holders actually take jobs? In what types…

This paper summarizes a study of professional development in Indiana and six other states and its connection to the provision of teacher time. The study examined state provisions for professional development in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Washington. The states used different approaches to providing teacher…

The goal of the Quality Improvement Program Plan (QUIPP) for Special Educators, developed by New York City Public Schools in New York, was to improve the quality of instruction for students with disabilities by expanding the knowledge and instructional abilities of special education professionals. The program, available in elementary and…

An experimental program designed to test an inservice method for introducing the practical aspects of John Dewey's educational philosophy to teachers was received positively by 17 of the program's 20 volunteer participants. The program used a limited version of R.A. Gibboney's "Toward Intellectual Excellence: Some Things to Look for in…

This report explores issues surrounding the present governance structure of teacher credentialing in California and considers alternative structures to improve governance in the teaching profession. The study discusses the present credentialing structure, credentialing problems, and criticisms of the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, a body…

Issues for policymakers at the national and local authority levels concerning teacher appraisal are discussed, from the perspective of a local educational agency advisor in London, England. Teacher appraisal is one of the ways in which the plurality characterizing the English and Welsh education systems is being replaced by a national system. At…

The development of processes for considering student achievement data in the evaluation of teaching is discussed. As an alternative to the inappropriate and indefensible use of standardized test scores, the project on Expected Student Achievement (ESA) of the Kentucky Career Ladder Commission considered a management by objectives, or goal setting…

The Ways to Improve Education in Desegregated Schools (WIEDS) project's purposes have been to develop an information base of successful desegregation/integration strategies and to construct a set of models and guidelines for use by schools in planning staff development activities. To these ends, a study was conducted to assess staff development…