For well over a decade, teachers have been recognized as the single most important school-level factor influencing student achievement (Darling-Hammond, 2000; McCaffrey, Lockwood, Koretz, & Hamilton, 2003; Rivkin, Hanushek, & Kain, 2000; Rowan, Correnti & Miller, 2002; Wright, Horn, & Sanders, 1997). Tremendous public resources…

In the report "From Good to Great: Exemplary Teachers Share Perspectives on Increasing Teacher Effectiveness across the Career Continuum," (See full report in ERIC at ED555657) National and State Teachers of the Year shared their views on what helped them become great teachers. This accompanying "Discussion Starter Tool" builds…

Broadly speaking, this reflection approaches the on-going concern of capacitating an overwhelmingly White teaching profession for effectively teaching inner-city students attending "de facto" segregated schools. Using professional identifications, this reflection presents narrativized understanding of respondents' "becoming"…

Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) literature notes concerns with research in the field, and many of these concerns are similar to those noted for second language acquisition research in general. One fundamental problem is the general failure to address Garrett's (1991) assertion that research must consider classroom context. We believe…

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to examine (a) ways in which elementary principals in Connecticut influenced the induction experiences of new teachers and (b) how school leaders professional backgrounds and beliefs affected their approaches to induction. Research Methods: The study included six elementary principals from three Connecticut …

This article brings together an overview of ideas about teacher learning from both teacher education and workplace learning literature, and examines what and how newly qualified secondary school teachers learn in the early years of their career. We discuss the types of knowledge new teachers encounter and present a typology of teacher learning.…

A study was conducted to investigate the relationship between the life values of community college faculty and selected demographic variables (i.e., college location, age, teaching experience, highest degree held, and other employment). A stratified random sample of 984 Oregon community college instructors was asked to identify "guiding…

Conducted a study to determine the value of using metaphors to understand learning environments, determine if prospective elementary teachers gain an understanding of traditional and constructivist learning environment research, and explore the implications for teacher education. Reports that the use of metaphors helped teachers understand and…

This project surveyed special education teachers who were employed in the Gadsden Independent School District, Anthony, New Mexico, during the 1992-93 academic year to identify attitudinal differences between special education teachers (N=8) who departed the district the following year and those (N=32) who remained in the district. A survey…

An informal research study was done of faculty men's perspectives concerning the Graduate Core Program in the Graduate School of Professional Studies at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. The purpose of the investigation was to determine how teaching gender-related studies affected the male faculty; what they learned about gender issues…

A study of the experiences of a literacy teacher in the prison classroom chronicled the daily routine events and experiences that make up the life world of a teacher in the prison classroom. The introduction of this study emerged through the technique called opportunistic surveillance. The researcher, a prison teacher, engaged in…

Reports on a study of inexperienced and experienced music teachers to determine the dominant perceptual dimensions used to classify classical musical excerpts. Finds that listeners generate an internal hierarchy that reflects their individual background and knowledge. Concludes that instructional methods are as important as the music selected for…

In order to better evaluate bilingualism in deaf children, this study examined whether observers (N=37) from different backgrounds would agree on deaf children's use of either American Sign Language (ASL) or English signing. Observers represented a range of background experience in a variety of schools and programs; 6 were deaf; 31 were hearing;…

Data from the Joint Council on Economic Education's National Assessment of Economic Education (NAEE) Survey, gathered during the 1986-87 school year, provide material for a large-sample study of a broad variety of determinants of economic understanding and attitudes at the precollege level. The NAEE Survey, consisting of four questionnaires,…

Discusses a study of relationships among secondary school teachers' occupational stress, personality type, and social support. Reports greater burnout among single and newer teachers, graduate status teachers, those undergoing more stress, and those lacking social support. Concludes that teachers with Type A personalities suffered less from…