Many researchers have identified a process they call "deskilling", which they use to describe the daily experience of teachers who have been gradually losing control of their own labour within "low-trust" workplaces. Conversely, other scholars have found that under similar conditions, some teachers have their own ways of…

Productive use of academic freedom is fostered under conditions that go beyond "freedom from" to a positive "freedom to." Academic "freedom to" is threatened by contemporary changes in the way teaching and research are planned, organized, financed, and implemented. (JOW)

Describes U.S. teacher education reform, noting how most social problems are judged educational problems and explaining that, though education is a state responsibility, there is considerable similarity across the 50 states. Both public and teacher education are strictly scrutinized and considered one source of today's presumed school failure. The…

South Carolina's Educational Improvement Act may be only one factor responsible for closed decision-making climates in most of the state's elementary schools, because "reforms" also occurred in curriculum development, methodology, teacher education, and evaluation. With the deregulation movement gaining speed, the time is ripe for…

This special edition enables an in-depth look at the process of modernization of education in England, in relation to other international developments. In particular we focus on the reform of teachers? work by examining the antecedence of the current policy of remodelling through three articles based on the Evaluation of the Department for…

Australian higher education increasingly relies on flexible modes of delivery as a means of attracting and retaining students in a highly competitive global education market. While education is among those disciplines that have been most actively involved in the shift from face-to-face to online learning and teaching, the transition for many…

For this study, 40 teachers at four admired public urban high schools participated in interviews about the responsibilities, goals, and challenges they face as they try to attend to students' needs in the midst of pressures from high stakes testing and high academic standards. Common themes from their responses included a deep and profound…

Globalization has not only created the conditions that have made such educational reforms necessary, but it has also provided market-based ideology to undergird reform efforts from Santiago to New York City. Although a neoliberal approach to education is clearly en vogue, many educators and critics nonetheless have questioned the premises behind…

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,…

School boards are responsible for fostering an environment that promotes teacher professionalism. Successful approaches in the New York City Public Schools included a curriculum guide describing teaching practices reported by teachers; funding of experiments in teaching; and emphasizing reading, writing, and discussion. (MLF)

Explores how teachers' quality of working life contributes to their commitment to work and sense of efficacy in eight schools. Presents a model that ties workplace characteristics to important behaviors, attitudes, and psychological characteristics affecting teaching. Classroom observation and survey data suggest that quality-of-work-life measures…

The leadership of Qatar is greatly invested in its K-12 education reform, "Education for a New Era," because it views education as the key to the nation's economic and social progress. This study, one of a number of RAND studies that trace and document the reform process in Qatar, was designed to assess progress made in the first years…

This paper explores the notion of educational partnerships and reports on research on client-provider partnerships between full primary schools and external technology education providers for Year 7 and 8 New Zealand students (age range approx. 12 to 13 years). Educational reforms in New Zealand and the introduction of a more holistic technology…

This report argues that if the United States is to have a vibrant democracy, avert the growth of a permanent underclass, and have a high-wage economy, schools must graduate the vast majority of students with achievement levels long thought possible only for a privileged few. In the face of an increasing demand for teachers, a declining supply of…

A proposal is presented for attracting, retaining, and motivating effective educators and increasing student performance in Arizona. Written by the Arizona Education Association, the proposal targets three areas crucial to effective education: (1) professional growth and evaluation; (2) school environment; and (3) compensation. Part one of this…