This paper follows the development of and changes in relationships between university faculty and middle school staff involved in a Professional Development School (PDS) group. Discussion is based on two imaginary "snapshots" contrived from descriptions of the group at their first meeting and again at the year-end meeting. The snapshots reveal a…

In the spirit of education reform, this paper presents a literature review that provides a framework for discussing methods of teacher evaluation, their effectiveness in assessing what they purport to do, and the concern for better evaluation methods that can lead to improved teaching. The chief concerns addressed are what actually defines an…

Findings from a 3-year participant/observer documentation study are examined from the perspective of individuals (teachers, principals, college faculty) and from the perspective of developing the Professional Development School (PDS) as a learning community group. The study identifies four phases that individuals experienced during the three years…

This report presents the results of a year-long pre- and postinstitute evaluation of the 6-week summer workshop for 221 primary grade teachers of disadvantaged children from 41 different New York City schools. The report is organized around the findings obtained from each of nine evaluation instruments and checklists used to measure (1) changes in…

A decentralized system of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) was established in clusters of six to nine ghetto elementary schools in Chicago to increase the relevance of televised instruction, allow each group to provide its own curriculum, and to involve classroom teachers in program development processes. An additional benefit, that the programs…

This paper describes a qualitative study at an at-risk primary school after a year of implementing educational changes. The paper opens with a detailed diary of the author's first morning observing the principal in action at the school. The analysis of data and field notes centers on the strengths of the principal's leadership, and the themes in…

This bulletin discusses the following topics as they relate to kindergarten education between the years of 1918 and 1920: (1) Kindergarten extension; (2) Kindergarten legislation; (3) Kindergartens in towns and villages; (4) Two war activities continued; (5) The kindergarten and the home; (6) The kindergarten and the school; (7) Surveys recommend…

Discusses the results of a study that examined the perceptions of elementary and secondary school teachers and of educational technology faculty and graduate students about five topic areas related to educational technology: instructional design, cooperative learning, learner control, school reform, and computers and media. (Author/LRW)

To create inclusive schools, all staff members must change the way they view education, including changing paradigms of teaching and learning, teacher support, and staff development practices. Five recommendations for helping schools become inclusive focus on staff development, shared beliefs, planning time, flexible scheduling, and innovative…

Educators from the Baltimore City Public Schools and the Houston Independent School District describe how they implement inclusion and the role of staff development in the process. The Baltimore district describes its consulting teacher model, which supports inclusion from the inside out. The Houston district offers strategies for districts…

In Finland and England, national policy on subject- versus child-centered curriculum are moving in opposite directions. Comparative studies of four small elementary schools indicate that teachers' beliefs, values, and practices were powerful mediators of their interpretations and responses to imposed changes, and the ethos of very small schools…

Paper considers the strategy of using aligned policies to encourage more ambitious instruction for all students from the perspective of elementary classroom teachers charged with implementing such instruction. Nine elementary teachers' responses to their local school district's efforts to press more ambitious ideas about literacy instruction are…

The impact of the international donor-supported District Primary Education Programme on the thinking and actions of 234 primary school teachers in South India was influenced by four cultural constructs: "openness to regulation,""sense of duty," and views on social hierarchy and knowledge acquisition. Teachers were receptive to…

Describes the position of Specialist in Continuing Education (SCE) developed by the Cooperative Educational Research Laboratory, Inc. The SCE conducts seminars with small groups of teachers engaged in self-assessment and professional growth. Seminars focus on teachers finding their own solutions to their problems and on professional…

Examines how classroom teachers have been prepared to teach students with disabilities and presents a reconceptualized approach to preparing educators to meet the needs of special students through educational partnerships. The article describes such an approach at the University of Utah's Graduate School of Education. (SM)