Over the past 15 years, charter schools and teachers unions have battled in state legislatures, the courts and the media. But with increasing frequency, the two groups are facing each other in the everyday operation of schools. This report summarizes the opinions expressed at a meeting of local state, and national leaders from both the charter…

Significantly, job satisfaction and motivation are very essential to the continuing growth of educational systems around the world and they rank alongside professional knowledge and skills, center competencies, educational resources as well as strategies, in genuinely determining educational success and performance. This study assessed the…

With No Child Left Behind's call for highly qualified teachers, the stakes for recruiting and retaining teachers have never been more important. Alabama, like other states, has struggled to develop policies and programs that effectively staff all classrooms with quality educators. The Center for Teaching Quality, with the support of SERVE, has…

A study was conducted by a National Education Association (NEA) panel of experiences in three local school districts with state and local regulations that approximated the provisions of Public Law (PL) 94-142 (Education for All Handicapped Children Act). Selected testimony and case studies from educators, parents, and children in Des Moines…

A series of 10 seminars on teaching and learning across the curriculum were offered at Burlington College (Vermont) to improve faculty morale and to provide faculty development at this college which relies on an all-adjunct faculty. These interdisciplinary seminars focused on local context and culture. The 32 participants, who were paid an…

Describes the Hong Kong education system, discusses policies and initiatives for education quality and school improvement, and reviews the development of school-effectiveness research. Summarizes progress in language teaching and learning, teacher quality, private-sector school development, curriculum development, teaching and learning conditions,…

This report is one of nine detailed case studies of small urban high schools that served as the foundation for the Education Resource Strategies (ERS) report "Strategic Designs: Lessons from Leading Edge Small Urban High Schools." These nine schools were dubbed "Leading Edge Schools" because they stand apart from other high…

Digital tools are increasingly being used to support teaching in higher education. These tools place new demands on the tasks and responsibilities of the teacher, and can influence teacher roles. In this study we investigate the long-term use and development of a tool for facilitating the negotiation of meaning in argumentative student texts,…

This report provides the most recent national indicators on school crime and safety. Some of these indicators document that student safety has improved. For example, the victimization rate of students ages 12-18 at school declined from 73 victimizations per 1,000 students in 2003 to 55 per 1,000 students victimizations in 2004. However, other…

The author conducted a study of reasons why novice teachers become disenchanted with the administrative support in their schools. Using the ideas of Rosenholtz and Simpson (1990) as a basis for his research, the author designed and administered a survey to 53 novice teachers and 15 building principals regarding the factors that influence novice…

The purpose of the study reported upon in this paper was to determine what graduates of a teacher education program designed to prepare teachers who will work toward goals of equity and social justice were encountering in their schools and how they felt they were doing with regard to these aims and why. Eleven graduates in their second, fourth or…

Section 1 of this report presents the results of a national survey of public school teachers in 1990, which solicited their views and opinions on the current condition of teaching. Over 20,000 teachers responded to the survey which contained questions ranging from their assessment of overall morale to the availability of instructional materials,…

The Commission on Master Teachers shares the results of its study and deliberations on career ladders in teaching by examining assumptions, recalling facts about educational change, and posing critical questions in regard to the purpose, design, process, and support needed to establish a school district career ladder staffing arrangement. Proposed…

As classroom teachers progress through their teaching careers, they may encounter stressful transitional periods. At about the tenth year, they decide whether to remain in the occupation and which teaching situation they should consider permanently. At about the twentieth year, they may evaluate their careers and revitalize themselves. There…

As student populations become more diverse, the teacher population is becoming less so. Minorities are not pursuing teaching careers due to inadequate academic preparation and high college costs. Needed are career incentives, improved recruitment strategies, restructured preparation programs, identification and mentoring programs, and enhanced…