Over the past decade numerous arguments have been put forth that campus governance needs to be reformed to meet new challenges. Rethinking admission standards, implementing distance learning, increasing fund-raising, diversifying the faculty, and creating external partnerships are just a few issues that demand timely and informed decisions. For…

Background: Experiential learning has been posited as an approach to influencing preservice teachers' understanding of diversity and social justice. The research reported here examined the impact of a field-based experience in Poland focused on the Holocaust as it pertained to the beliefs and actions of 12 future education professionals. This…

Background/Context: Bullying within schools continues despite thoughtful and well-researched anti-bullying strategies deployed against it. The bulk of research targeted toward understanding and eradicating bullying within schools is of an empirical nature. In other words, through data collection, questionnaires, interviews, ethnography,…

Background/Context: This study builds upon research on teacher professional communities and high school restructuring reforms. It employs a conceptual framework that draws upon theories of "community of practice" and "community of learners." Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: This study analyzes how teachers' professional inquiry…

Describes the experience of three teacher leaders who attempt to lead from within their classrooms. Interview and biographical data indicate that these teacher leaders navigate the structure of schools, nurture relationships, model professional growth, help others with change, and challenge the status quo by raising children's voices. However,…

Background/Context: Unlike the situation nationally where desegregation progress is faltering, the school district in Rock Hill, South Carolina, has recently undertaken measures to increase balance in pupil assignment despite considerable local opposition to these measures and the absence of a court order requiring the district to do so. Moreover,…

Five middle grades teachers developed and implemented MI-based units of instruction. Participants experienced varying levels of collegial support for MI-based instruction, found students both embraced and avoided learning choices, noted importance of students' realizing their own personal learning strength(s), and reported motivation for continued…

This qualitative case study investigated faculty perceptions of the purposes, costs, and benefits of program evaluation during a comprehensive review by the Office of Graduate Studies at a large Research I university. The assumptions held by the faculty at the beginning of the review process about the purposes of a program evaluation and their…

This case study examines the applicability of 1994 standards, offered by the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation, to evaluations conducted in international contexts. The work is undertaken in response to an open invitation from the Joint Committee in its 1994 publication. The article addresses two purposes. First, it asks…

The institutional landscape of K-12 educational contracting is fundamentally changing. Based on industry and district data, this study identifies three distinct shifts in the content and structure of interactions between suppliers of instructional goods and local school systems. These shifts include 1) elevation of test-related services and…

A large number of community college students have difficulty with postsecondary-level reading, writing, and math demands, necessitating remedial education. A qualitative case study was conducted to investigate state and institutional practices for remediation in 15 community colleges selected for region, size, and urbanicity. The six states in…

This article explores one teacher education program's experiment in "turning the souls" of its students to help them understand and care deeply about issues of race and social justice, including issues of environmental sustainability. The Putney Graduate School of Teacher Education (1950-1964), a small "reconstructionist"…

A first-year teacher was observed and interviewed weekly to find out what happens to the beginning teacher as he or she tries to fit into an institutionally prescribed role. Problems encountered and the novice's responses to them are examined to see how these responses relate to the development of expertise. (MT)

Uses micropolitical and organizational theory to examine teacher communities. Data from case studies of two urban middle schools show that when teachers enact collaborative reforms in the name of community, conflict often emerges. Results indicate that conflict is central to community, and how teachers manage conflict defines community borders and…

Study investigated how new technology affects the working procedures and mental activity of industrial machinists, examining how machinists learn to use computer numerical control technology. Results indicate areas of cognitive difference requiring further study (e.g., differences in conceptualization, formalization, and perspective, and shifts to…