This article reports a comparative study on the reasons for pre-service student teachers becoming teachers in Hong Kong and Macau. The study adopted a mixed methods research design, with 459 and 137 student teachers completing a questionnaire on teaching motivation and 35 and 15 student teachers joining a follow-up interview in Hong Kong and…

Over the past 15 years, Finland has performed very well on international student achievement tests. Although Finland's results have slightly deteriorated from those at the beginning of the 21st century, Finnish students still perform very well in all comparative international surveys such as PISA, TIMSS and ICCS. The Finnish school system seems to…

This paper follows on from the previous bulletin (Redford 2017), which covered the education remit of the Parliament's Education and Skills Committee between September 2016 and January 2017. The following bulletin covers the Education remit of the Education and Skills Committee from January to August 2017.

The policy reforms over the past 15 years have placed all the responsibility for reading achievement on teachers, with little, if any, support. What many have achieved is declining achievement in comparison with other countries. Moreover, there are increasing teacher shortages, as promising individuals choose other careers and teachers leave the…

This study explores the motivation of "high-status" professionals to change career and enter teaching, and their experience of undertaking initial teacher education (ITE) programmes in England. The study builds on previous research which found that career-changers are disproportionately more likely to fail to complete their ITE studies,…

Reflecting on her 40 year-long "happenstance" career in teaching--a field she had as a child vowed to avoid--Carol Ann Tomlinson describes five personal practices that have helped her and her colleagues achieve an effective, personally meaningful practice. She shares stories from her professional journey that illuminate these elements of a…

This study aimed to investigate teacher candidates' retrospective and prospective evaluations about the classroom teacher education program, self, and the teaching profession. Observations, interviews, focus group interviews, and surveys were used to collect data from the 240 subjects. Teacher candidates believed that the teaching profession is…

The proposed federal STEM Teacher Pathway program seeks to produce 100,000 new, high-quality math and science teachers in the next decade. How difficult will the goal be to achieve? This report uses data from the ACT® college readiness assessment to examine the feasibility of producing 100,000 high-quality math and science teachers in the next…

There is no shortage of challenges in school education. Some of the biggest challenges we face can appear frustratingly intractable. Despite reform efforts, regular government reviews and ongoing calls for change, progress in addressing our most significant challenges is often slow and solutions continue to elude us. In this paper Professor Geoff…

This is the latest in a series of polls sponsored by Phi Delta Kappa International with the Gallup organization. Some important findings of this year's poll include: About half of us believe teacher unions are hurting public education, but we're more likely to support teacher union leaders than governors in disputes over teacher collective…

A number of recent studies have shown that teachers are unevenly distributed across schools: compared to other students, students who are low-income, minority, limited-English proficient, low-performing, and/or from urban contexts tend to be taught by substantially less qualified teachers. Consequently, many researchers have analyzed how teachers…

Describes the following four conceptions of teaching and discusses each in the context of quality management and evaluation in universities today: (1) performance, enactments, and engagement, including long-term appraisal; (2) industrial production, including product standards; (3) professional practice; and (4) personal calling or vocation.…

A major cause of the current teacher shortage is declining enrollment of students into schools of education. Low pay, low status, poor working conditions, and lack of career opportunities keep many people from entering the teaching profession. (DF)

The training and retention of teachers is discussed including: academically able students not attracted to teaching, elimination of teacher education programs and assumption of their role by the liberal arts, improving teacher education, satisfactory career environment, and teacher surplus or shortage. (MLW)

Investigates problems besetting United States teacher education institutions. Cites curricula, the relatively low status of teachers in American society, and low salary expectations as reasons behind the present need for better teachers and improved teacher education. Discusses current reform efforts to attract talented persons to the profession.…