To understand the role of early intervention (EI) practitioner confidence in the use and application of assistive technology (AT), a 24-item Assistive Technology Confidence Scale (ATCS) was developed and distributed to EI personnel. This article reports on the development and psychometric properties of the ATCS and the relation between scores on…

In recent years, public discussions over the socialization of boys have increased dramatically. These concerns have fueled a number of proposed remedies, one of which has been a push to increase the presence of men in elementary schools. To date, however, this call for increased male participation in elementary education has focused primarily on…

In many teacher preparation programs, student teaching serves as a culminating event that bridges academic coursework and the realities of classroom teaching. Therefore, it represents a significant aspect of preservice teacher education. This study explored student teaching as it was experienced by 13 middle and secondary science preservice…

The Office of Educational Assessment of the New York City public schools conducted an evaluation of an initiative aiming to reduce the average size of second-grade classes from 29 to 25 students. Information about class size was provided by the Office of the Auditor General. In addition, field staff observed classes and interviewed teachers in a…

As the largest part of K-12 spending, teacher pay is often the focus of deliberations during legislative sessions. Compensation is an important part of attracting and retaining high-quality teachers. Most teachers continue to be paid based primarily on years of experience and degree level, although some states tie a small portion of compensation…

The history and characteristics of the dominant evaluation model used in teacher education today, the Western Kentucky or Sandefur model, are described and evidence is offered of widespread anomalies in its usage. A new follow-up model that would permit informed decisions about the professional needs of teachers is proposed. (LC)

The typical education professor has fewer than 5 years of K-12 teaching experience; those who haven't taught in public schools for 20 years undermine prospective teachers' attitudes about teaching and have little understanding about teachers' professional problems. It is hoped the character of teacher education may be altered by the massive…

Video clubs give teachers opportunities to watch and discuss videotapes of their teaching and to develop new techniques for viewing and explaining classroom interactions. This approach is useful, because immediate responses are unnecessary, narrower views of classroom interactions are possible, and teachers can observe one another's practice. (MLH)

A serious teacher shortage is causing some school leaders to reconsider differentiated staffing within the teaching profession--the idea that individuals with differing levels of expertise and different titles can enhance other staff's effectiveness. Higher salaries and publicly disclosed diplomas and licenses are essential. (MLH)

Describes the Practising Integration in Science Education (PING) project that supports teacher, in-service trainer, and researcher co-operation to establish a practice of integrated science education. Presents an analysis based on case studies that investigated five teachers' understandings of PING and its role in the development of reasoned and…

In Britain, teaching is being reconstructed through a technicist and managerial perspective that bleaches out teachers'"authentic" voice. This paper focuses on a group of urban teachers' professional commitment and explores how teachers' viewpoints are infused with their class histories, class consciousness, and teaching experiences.…

This article argues that issues surrounding adolescent literacies problematize the relationship between the acquisition of core skills, the need to connect with a more expansive repertoire of literate practices, and a middle school reform initiative that encourages greater connectedness to the world of the adolescent. The terms "public literacy"…

In his article in the second volume of "Tradition Renewed: A History of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America," Jonathan Sarna argues that the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) has always had two incompatible visions of its role. On the one hand, there were (and are) those who see it as "a centre of Jewish 'Wissenschaft' pure and simple",…

In recent years a number of writers have expressed concern that teachers fail to engage with published educational research, and that this failure rests in part with the research producers' disconnection from their users. In the context of these criticisms, this article considers how our knowledge of teachers' life cycles, from their early days in…

Using personal autobiographical data collected over the course of an academic year, this article reflects the experiences of a new teacher educator entering higher education. Emergent patterns are examined and illuminated using the discourse of mentoring, and this discourse is, in turn, challenged, in part for the imbalance in the voices recorded,…