In 1983 and 1984, a number of reports were issued that criticized the status of schools, primarily high schools. These reports gave impetus to widespread efforts to improve education. This paper presents an analysis of the content and impact of the reform reports, reviewing earlier reform efforts, assessing the primary ways in which the reports…

Examines educational reforms adopted by the Soviet government in 1983-84 that provide for enrollment of six year olds in primary school, universal vocational training for secondary school students, and improvements in curricular content and teacher performance. Discusses the structure of the Soviet school system, inherent administrative problems,…

This paper explores the perceptions of three groups of teacher education trainees in Ghana--those beginning training, those completing training, and those with two years' experience in schools. A structured instrument was used to assess responses to statements about the status of teachers and teaching, teacher control, preferences for posting and…

This study examined the direct and buffering effects of mentoring on the relationship between adverse working conditions and positive (i.e. intrinsic job satisfaction and career satisfaction) and negative (i.e. the burnout dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment) employee outcomes. Moderated…

The purpose of this study was to explore how non-teaching demands are affecting the teaching/research/service dynamic in the tenure process of early childhood teacher educators. Fifty-seven NAECTE members responded to a 24-item survey exploring issues and current initiatives that support or impede scholarship. Findings revealed that early…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB, 2001) is a landmark reform reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, 1965). In its second year of implementation, NCLB is the most ambitious federal effort to raise student achievement in 38 years (Mathews, 2003). Its intent is to close achievement gaps among students who belong to minority…

To explore several categories of variables strongly associated with professional satisfaction and dissatisfaction in American middle schools, responses of 540 out of 900 targeted middle school teachers to two open-ended questions were analysed. (The two survey items were drawn from the Status of the U.S. American Middle School Teacher…

Factors that contributed to the demoralization of junior faculty at a university with 214 teaching and professional staff were identified and change strategies were recommended. A consultant held interviews with 65 current and 8 former staff members. Themes that emerged from the interviews were used to develop suggestions for improving specific…

This paper addresses policy issues raised by recent recommendations to improve the quality of teacher education by moving to fifth-year certification. It describes career patterns of beginning teachers with different undergraduate preparation paths, and analyzes the effects of new teachers' background characteristics, educational investments, and…

In 1998, The Cleveland Foundation developed a strategy to support select Cleveland area charter schools as part of its commitment to local school reform. The Cleveland Foundation provided start-up funding to four charter schools it deemed both promising and viable. In 2000, The Cleveland Foundation contracted with The Evaluation Center to provide…

Moral purpose keeps teachers close to children's needs; change agentry causes them to develop better strategies for accomplishing their moral goals. Core capacities for building greater change capacity are personal vision-building, inquiry, mastery, and collaboration. Education faculties must redesign their programs to focus directly on developing…

Argues that the idealism that is central to most stories of good teaching practice can become an obstacle when teachers who do not work in optimal conditions try to turn "theory" into practice. Offers an alternative narrative of "good" teaching: teacher and students constructing an intellectually engaging experience under less-than-optimal…

Projects a "typical" future teacher's career path, based on current teacher-education developments. She will be a highly motivated student, major in an academic subject, enter a highly selective teacher-education program, pursue challenging coursework, get adequate field experience, enter a professional-development-school internship, and develop…

Given the current need for collegial interaction among teachers, a teacher collegial group (TCG) was designed and implemented as a participatory structure in an elementary school. An interpretive research design was used to: (1) identify interactions occurring among the six participating teachers during TCG meetings; (2) improve the TCG meeting…

Analyzes the political implications of two reports on educational reform: "Tomorrow's Teachers" and the Carnegie Task Force's "A Nation Prepared: Teachers for the 21st Century." Proposed changes involving career ladders, a national standards board, and abolition of undergraduate teacher education will produce power struggles over evaluation…