This paper analyses the perceptions of teachers involved in postgraduate studies of the importance of their study programme for their profession, describes the benefits of postgraduate studies for their practice and examines the strategies used to enhance the impact research they undertake on their teaching. A questionnaire was administered to 161…

If American education is to be improved by increasing the impact of theory and research on schooling, then the initiative for change is going to have to come from the major side of the joint enterprise, schools. (Author)

Concerns with teacher education extend to program quality, professional credibility, and utilization of research. This article suggests that university- and school-based teacher educators increase their role in research utilization and development activities and establish school-university networks to sustain these efforts. (DF)

The Commonwealth Teacher Training Study conducted shortly after World War I and the activities of the Commission on Teacher Education from 1938 to 1944 addressed the problems of recruiting and motivating higher quality education majors. The findings of these studies could prove highly relevant to today's concerns in teacher education. (PGD)

For learning to change, teaching, teacher education, and educational policies must change. Reform must take into account teacher knowledge and beliefs about learning and teaching. Educational researchers should employ qualitative methods. (SK)

The direction teacher education will take depends upon careful examination of the processes and activities that affect teacher behavior and on meticulous re-definition of the skills, attitudes, and knowledge that contribute to teaching effectiveness. The restrictions of educational bureaucracy and the perpetually changing demands of educational…

This publication of the National Science Foundation (NSF) provides brief descriptions of projects related to Mathematics Education which were funded by NSF since the late 1950's. Projects supported fall into four categories: curriculum projects, preparation of teachers, implementation activities, and general (reports, conferences, research). The…

Discusses possible contributions of research on teacher thinking. Examines arguments made against the present or potential contributions of research to teacher education. Shows how the dangers that give rise to these fears can be avoided without simultaneously eschewing the positive contributions of research. (JS)

Critics feel education scholarship lacks rigor and a practical focus on achievement, wasting substantial resources. Research on effectiveness of educational reforms is often weak, inconclusive, or simply inadequate, and good scholarship may have little influence on classroom practice. Popular policies often persist despite strong research evidence…

Responds to Floden and Klinzing's article, "What Can Research on Teacher Thinking Contribute to Teacher Preparation? A Second Opinion." Agrees with it, but discusses questions raised but not answered. Questions what expertise in teaching is, how this expertise is communicated, and who these experts are. (JS)

Educational research is not having the impact on teaching practice that it could and should be having. In the past fifteen years, a four-tier pattern has emerged, with each tier more complex and revealing than the one before. Earlier researchers focused on description and differentiation in their studies, building a body of knowledge that could be…

This paper reports on a study of reflective practice, which has been a gradual process in education in the Czech Republic. Until the 1990s, most research and development in education and in preservice and inservice teacher education and training had been different from this reflective approach. Instead, quantitative research approaches had been…

The author responds to alarm over declining national test scores by outlining possible improvements for educational practice and policy. (LH)

This special serial issue is based on the proceedings of an invitational conference on "Next Steps in Inner-City Education" held in Racine (Wisconsin) in October 1995. The three articles in this publication attempt to offer effective and practical recommendations for educational practitioners and policy makers who seek to transform the country's…

Salient accomplishments of the education reform movement (public involvement, state action, funding, student achievement, etc.) are outlined and five unanswered questions about its mission, durability, substance, means, and results are discussed. (MSE)