A long-standing debate within the school counseling profession concerns requiring previous teaching experience as a prerequisite to certification for school counselors. Advocates of the teaching requirement argue that it is necessary for counselors to understand and empathize with classroom teachers. Opponents, although they agree with a need for…

This paper reports on a phenomenological case study that explored the blossoming and wilting of an early childhood educator's career commitment and her eventual decision to leave the field. Spanning a 7-year period, the study employs representation and analysis of metaphors as heuristic tools to illuminate the lived experience of becoming, being,…

A teacher's understanding of any teaching behavior or skill must be tested in the context of actual teaching. However, practice that is unenlightened by understanding and by the mastery of concepts about teaching behaviors and skills is of uncertain value in teacher training. (JN)

In a series of letters, a veteran high school English teacher advises a student teacher to tell students the "big reasons" for learning; control her workload by increasing students' learning responsibility; plan lessons based on weekly schedules and meaningful writing assignments; and avoid exhaustion by streamlining classroom rules,…

A narration of teaching experiences in an inner-city school in California is the basis for a proposed democratic educational platform that suggests ways to move beyond the despair and frustration of inner-city teaching without losing sight of the painful realities. Implications for teacher education are discussed. (SLD)

This study investigated teachers' perceptions and practices concerning musical improvisation in the English primary classroom. A questionnaire survey was carried out with participants drawn from primary teachers--both generalists and specialists--working in various regions of England. The findings demonstrate a positive view of teachers'…

During the past decade, the arts have been increasingly included in professional development programs for general education teachers in the United States. Little is known, however, about teachers' attitudes toward the arts in education or the applications of arts processes in their teaching practice. In this mixed-methods study, data collected…

This article will present a case study of an unrequited teacher-learning collaboration, an attempt to work with an experienced teacher to redesign his practice in consonance with Fostering a Community of Learners (FCL) principles and practices. The author's purpose in presenting this case will be threefold: first, to provide a coherent account of…

It is widely accepted that teachers differ in their effectiveness, yet the empirical evidence regarding teacher effectiveness is weak. The existing evidence is mainly drawn from econometric studies that use covariates to attempt to control for selection effects that might bias results. We use data from a four-year experiment in which teachers and…

Eastern education may be perceived by Western-oriented educators as something quite different from the latters' "advanced" and "developed" way of educating. Cultural difference in pedagogical practice may be experienced by Western English language educators not as difference but as deficit. Eastern teachers of EFL are sometimes…

The mathematics education reform movement has catalyzed issues concerning curriculum for future mathematics teachers, because of the varied school mathematical experiences of students entering post-secondary education. Post secondary instructors face the problem of addressing these differences in the mathematics and mathematics education courses…

For many years I have engaged future mathematics teachers in activities that focus on emotional dimensions of their learning. Even those teachers who were able to reconstruct themselves as learners of mathematics had difficulties with changing their practice. Through a series of autobiographical stories, I examine my own experiences as a teacher…

Science as inquiry is a key content standard #1 the National Science Education Standards; however, few secondary science teachers successfully and consistently implement inquiry-based instruction in their classrooms. This research examines the role of reform-based curricular materials in influencing the classroom practices of 12 high school…

Teacher quality is one of the most important predictors of a child's academic achievement, but schools in Indiana and across the nation are struggling to employ a full cadre of teachers who are qualified to instruct the subjects they are teaching. This policy brief explores the factors and circumstances behind the national struggle to meet the…

This article reports on research on secondary-school teachers and dilemmas they encounter in their work in multi-ethnic schools in the Netherlands. The results of a recent study based on interviews are compared with a survey conducted in 1996. This showed that in a changing societal context, that can be characterized by mounting selection and…