Background/Context: Research has documented the benefits of family and parental involvement in children's schooling, both developmentally and across domains. Classroom teachers play pivotal roles in establishing and maintaining home--school partnerships because of their sustained contact with children. Despite this, few studies have examined…

This paper explores the ways in which success in school is constructed by a majority White teaching staff during day-to-day classroom practices and schoolwide policies, such as the disciplinary systems at a "no-excuses" charter school in one of the largest urban districts in the U.S. Stakeholders were assessed by interviews and…

The development of one's teaching identity is a dynamic and multi-layered process, which becomes more immediate when one enters the profession through an alternative route, such as Teach For America (TFA). This grounded theory study examines how participation in three interrelated institutions--the urban school, the university, and TFA--directly…

Presented in this article is a case study of first-year teachers working in an urban school. Drawing on literature around the early-career experiences of teachers--including a unique vulnerability for emotional turbulence and belief change--this article examines the changing beliefs of brand new urban educators as they progress throughout their…

This qualitative study examined the question: How do African-born teachers in U.S. urban schools conceptualize the "teacher" and his/her role and characteristics in an African school context? The data resulted in the conceptualization of the teacher as "the community teacher" who is intimately invested and integrated into the community,…

As preservice teachers enter their first teaching experience, they often have perceptions about what teaching will be like based on a vision that is typically linked to their own background and experiences. This study explores the changes in visions of 15 preservice teachers throughout student teaching in an urban environment. The research will…

Providing preservice teachers in urban settings with authentic educational experiences may be an effective approach in preparing them to teach diverse students. Therefore, this investigation examined preservice teachers' perceptions of mentoring at-risk high school students. Data analysis reflected preservice teachers' positive experiences and…

This study rests on written statements made by New York City teachers and administrators. The study documents what a sample of urban teachers of mathematics and school principals in elementary, middle, and high schools state are: impediments of, as well as supports to, their productive teaching of mathematics, and their suggestions of what is…

Faced with an acute shortage of teachers in the United States, New York City has initiated an alternative teacher induction program called the Teaching Fellows (NYCTF). This study, focusing on the verbal and written narratives of 38 participants, examines the various foci of these new teachers through their first year of teaching. The participants…

What teaching practices foster inquiry and promote students to learn challenging subject matter in urban schools? Inquiry-based instruction and successful inquiry learning and teaching in project-based science (PBS) were described in previous studies (Brown & Campione, [1990]; Crawford, [1999]; Krajcik, Blumenfeld, Marx, Bass, & Fredricks,…

How one sample of teachers who were uncommonly successful with at-risk students achieved their results was studied. Six minority (African American and Asian American) and six nonminority successful teachers in a large urban school district were interviewed about their practices. Implications of the variety of strategies used are discussed. (SLD)

Study examined the intended planning and teaching decisions of 11 secondary physical education teachers to determine their rationale and goals for a socially focused curriculum. Results suggested teachers' goals for student learning were consistent with an emphasis on social responsibility within the categories of understanding, respect, and…