The call for reform of teacher preparation programs by Arne Duncan (2009), U.S. Secretary of Education, has the potential to be the catalyst for a re-emergence of co-teaching in higher education. Duncan argues for the need to implement innovative preservice teacher education strategies that will result in an increase in K-12 student achievement.…

The student teaching experience plays a significant role in teacher education programs by providing pre-service teachers with an opportunity to work directly with students in actual school settings. Recent reform movements in teacher education have emphasized mentoring and models of student teacher fieldwork such as partnerships and professional…

Lucinda Lee Katz, head of Marin Country Day School (California), received the 2009 NAIS Diversity Leadership Award. This article presents an edited excerpt of her acceptance speech. In this speech, she outlines what is necessary to move school communities ahead in one's diversity work.

This study employed multiple regression modeling to examine the success of 63 California elementary schools in terms of (a) school-community social capital, (b) student academic performance, (c) student behavioral incident rate, and (d) teacher turnover rate with respect to the extent of school-community partnership programs. Also of interest to…

Every few years, there is a breakthrough in information technology, introducing a new concept that becomes widely used. This paper deals with the challenges IT (information technology) instructors face due to these rapid developments in the IT industry. More specifically, we are interested in the challenges instructors of the introductory IT…

This article explores teachers' experiences of implementing the problem-solving approach; a learner centred pedagogic innovation prescribed by a centrally mandated curriculum in Uganda. It presents teachers' interpretations of the pedagogic principles suggested by the innovation as well as their accounts of challenges of implementing the pedagogic…

This study explored the effects of the lived high school experiences of high school teachers and how those experiences may inform researchers regarding high school reform. One aim was to investigate how teachers' experiences during high school influenced their thoughts or behaviors toward high school as a rite of passage, epiphany, or critical…

The emerging field of educational visioning is full of challenges and phenomena worthy of careful analysis and documentation. A relatively neglected phenomenon is the learning curve of the leaders (often lay leaders) involved in the visioning process. This article documents a range of experiences of the author serving as a vision coach to five…

Two decades of research have documented what now is common knowledge: no in-school factor matters more to students' educational experiences and outcomes than the effectiveness of their teacher. As a result, the national airspace is increasingly crowded with proposed reforms and initiatives designed to boost teacher performance, including new…

The network of relations between Physical Education (PE) teachers' self-efficacy, goal orientations, attitudes, intentions and behaviours concerning the implementation of a new PE curriculum was examined. Participants were 290 Greek junior high school PE teachers. Two years after the introduction of the new curriculum, participants responded to…

The Great Plains Distance Education Alliance (Great Plains IDEA) emphasizes the importance of a collaborative environment for instructors and students in distance education. The authors highlight a number of important principles for distance-education programs and point out similarities and differences when compared to traditional face-face-to…

Interdisciplinary teams with common planning time have been a hallmark of the middle school organizational structure since the 1960s, yet research on the effective use of common planning time is limited. This study explores how interdisciplinary teams at schools designated Kentucky Schools to Watch use common planning time, including the factors…

The purpose of this research is to describe a qualitative research study of experienced high school educators who have remained motivated and highly engaged in their teaching. Ten high school teachers who have been called "the best" by their administrators and fellow teachers were interviewed to ascertain common traits that can serve as…

Teacher education programs (TEPs) are consistently challenged to respond to individual and collective growth. In addition, current demographic changes have forced these programs to address issues of quality and equity in measurable ways. As an African immigrant to the United States, I have been fortunate to be involved in these programs,…

At its heart are the National Education Association's "Status of the American Public School Teacher" surveys, which are conducted every five years and offer unprecedented insights into the professional lives and experiences of teachers nationwide. This volume analyzes and summarizes the survey's findings, while also offering commentaries…