Although distributed leadership and inquiry-based working are relevant topics to primary education, there has been little discussion about how team members perceive these practices as meaningful in their day-to-day work. Following on from prior quantitative studies, the present study conducted a case study in which semi-structured interviews were…

The NGSS Early Implementers Initiative was created to help eight California school districts and two charter management organizations, supported by WestEd's K-12 Alliance, implement the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Many educational initiatives are funded for only a couple of years. This unique initiative spanned an extraordinary six…

Teachers in their first few years of their teaching career require high quality, structured support to begin the journey towards becoming experts. Establishing research-based best practices and working habits set up early career teachers for a fulfilling and successful career. The requirements of teachers are constantly changing, and teachers need…

Based on work with elementary grades teachers in mathematics professional development to prepare for the implementation of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, we offer a set of recommendations for school leaders who wish to assist teachers in adjusting their instruction to meet the challenges that the new standards present.

This research seeks to investigate the claim that London schools have improved dramatically since 2000. The authors have reviewed the evidence of transformational change and explored possible reasons for the development in London's schools. The project was guided by three questions: (1) Is the success of London's schools as real as has been…

Teacher evaluation is at the center of current education policy reform. Most evaluation systems rely at least in part on principals' assessments of teachers, and their discretionary judgments carry substantial weight. However, we know relatively little about what they value when determining evaluations and high stakes personnel decisions. The…

This paper is the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ) fourth annual review of state laws, rules and regulations that govern the teaching profession. This year's "Yearbook" takes a different approach than the past editions, as it is designed as a companion to the 2009 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook", NCTQ's most recent…

This report presents detailed summaries of the responses of seven exemplary elementary teachers to a series of open-ended questions about effective social studies curriculum and instruction. The questions addressed the teachers' opinions about elementary social studies purposes and goals, content selection, and representation modes; forms and…

Formal teacher leadership roles--such as coach and coordinator--have become a standard component of education reform efforts intended to support teachers' instructional improvement efforts. Yet the culture of schools is widely understood to favor autonomy and egalitarianism, suggesting that classroom teachers may be resistant to peer leadership.…

This publication explores the future of schooling and the role of teacher leaders. Several questions are examined: (1) why teachers must take primary responsibility for creating a new context for teaching and learning; (2) how "constructivist leaders" create meaning out of learning; (3) how the roles of leadership with adults and with…

This policy paper summarizes the research on change and effective staff development to drive an outcomes-based, results oriented approach to increase student success. The paper provides a discussion of the following ideas necessary for practice: (1) participants must be involved in planning and developing training; (2) training must be relevant,…

Originally published in 1984, this book has been re-issued with a new and timely introduction and an index. Its six chapters provide a framework for viewing schools and teachers' roles within those schools and serve as a springboard for discussion about how to restructure schools and in what direction. Chapter 1, "The Social Realities of…

The purpose of this bulletin is to help teachers, supervisors, administrators, and other educators improve the English skills of culturally different youth. In an effort to gather available research and successful classroom practices, the Secondary Schools Section of the U.S. Office of Education invited a group of leaders to participate in a 3-day…

This study used Q-methodology, which describes subjective opinions through measured techniques, to evaluate the attitudes held by practitioners (19 special educators and 14 regular educators) as a result of the changing focus of special education from pull-out categorical programs to an integration service model. Q-methodology enabled the…

Today's principals face unique challenges--demands of time, knowledge, and organization, which take their toll on even the most flexible leader. A complement to the insightful "Survival Skills for the Principalship: A Treasure Chest of Time-Savers, Short-Cuts, and Strategies to Help You Keep a Balance in Your Life" (ED495598), this ready-to-edit…