The 2009 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" provided a comprehensive review of states' policies that impact the teaching profession. As a companion to last year's comprehensive state-by-state analysis, the 2010 edition provides each state with an individualized "Blueprint for Change," building off last year's "Yearbook"…

The 2009 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" provided a comprehensive review of states' policies that impact the teaching profession. As a companion to last year's comprehensive state-by-state analysis, the 2010 edition provides each state with an individualized "Blueprint for Change," building off last year's "Yearbook"…

As part of a Canadian International Development Agency funded project working with rural teachers in central China, recent graduates Lebans and Radigan spent a month teaching in Chinese schools. The primary purpose of the project is to work with members of the Sichuan Provincial Teacher Training Centre and rural teachers from Wenchuan County…

Improving professional learning for educators is a crucial step in transforming schools and improving academic achievement. To meet federal requirements and public expectations for school and student performance, the nation needs to bolster teacher skills and knowledge to ensure that every teacher is able to teach increasingly diverse learners,…

Three years after implementing a standards-based teacher evaluation system in a private K-12 school, research was conducted to determine what attitudes and perceptions teachers had on the effectiveness of the system. The survey includes questions about the teacher evaluation process and the goals of the test school in implementing the process. The…

Formative assessment has been receiving increasing attention in education. But from a classroom teacher's perspective, changing assessment practices is not always an easy, straightforward process. This article describes the experiences of five middle schools science teachers who met together weekly to exchange ideas about integrating formative…

Teacher educators have suggested that mentoring has the potential to help novices learn to teach in reform-minded ways. This suggestion implies a change in the nature of mentor-novice relationships as conceptualized in the existing literature and an understanding of the complexities of mentoring relationships. Based on critical constructivist and…

This paper presents the annual report of the Consolidated Grant Title V, Part A: Innovative Programs for the fiscal year 2008-2009. This report contains three sections. Section I, "Progress Report by Program", contains the following programs: (1) Local Education Reform Plan To Improve Reading, Math, and Language Arts; (2) Reading and Math Reform…

A Nation at Risk, Goals 2000, and No Child Left Behind are examples of external factors that compel educational leaders at local schools and districts to explore reform initiatives in order to meet federally required results. Because of political mandates to improve student learning and instruction, educational leaders are searching for…

Like practitioners in other professional fields, educators must keep current with the emerging knowledge and must be prepared to use it to continually fine-tune their conceptual and craft skills. Is there a difference between the professional development training experienced by teachers verses the professional development provided to other…

For about two years the Rochester City School District has eliminated much of the teachers' mandatory staff development time. In years past students would be released almost an hour early once a week to create time for staff development. Due to such issues as low test scores, numerous retirements, and many newly adopted reform programs the city…

Comprehensive school reform (CSR) requires quality professional development to succeed. This paper looks at how schools can make time for professional development while keeping the CSR initiative on track, explaining how to overcome challenges to implementing CSR and noting the need for district support. Steps that districts can take to build…

Recognizing that student achievement is intrinsically linked to high-quality teaching, Jodi Peine offers an invaluable guide that helps educational leaders strengthen teachers' instructional practice with an individualized and robust professional development process. The author provides administrators and staff developers with step-by-step…

The rapid education transformation in South African education over the past decade (1994-current), forced Institutions of Higher Learning to critically examine their own practices. The transformation of the post apartheid South African education system is largely driven and determined by a social and economic agenda. At institutions of higher…

The International Handbook of Teacher and School Development brings together a collection of research and evidence-based authoritative writings which focus on international teacher and school development. Drawing on research from 18 countries across 7 continents, the 40 chapters are grouped into 10 themes which represent key aspects of teacher and…