After discussing the need for second-order (or structural) reform and Tennessee's leadership in "first wave" legislation, this paper describes selected aspects of Tennessee reform activities and recent events leading to client-centered control. Tennessee's Better Schools Program, consistent with "first-wave" proposals,…

The first of two questions investigated in this paper concerns the relationships among three measures of teachers' expectations: that their students can succeed, that they can be successful as teachers, and that they can influence what happens in their classrooms and schools. The second question involves relationships between these three types of…

A study assessed the perceived effectiveness of cognitive theories of motivation on correctional educators in Tennessee in facilitating teacher attitude and performance as compared to noncognitive models. The Performance Motivation Questionnaire obtained demographic information and responses to items on motivational concepts and practices.…

A team of researchers from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville is in its tenth year of working with individual schools to improve the quality of life within educational communities. This paper reports on the current Quality of School Life (QSL) study conducted to assess teachers' perceived levels of satisfaction with the quality of their…

A state-wide survey based on a representative sampling of members of the 89th General Assembly was conducted to explore attitudes concerning the quality of education in Tennessee. Areas covered by the survey included the attitudes of the General Assembly members toward teachers, teachers' salaries, and age of retirement. The survey was designed…