Contemporary educational thought holds that one of the pivotal causes of inadequate school performance is the inability of schools to adequately staff classrooms with qualified teachers. It is widely believed that schools are plagued by shortages of teachers, primarily due to recent increases in teacher retirements and student enrollments. This…

This book examines the effects of reforms in some countries' national education systems, noting that far from improving education, they have often made it more difficult for teachers to do a good job in the classroom. It focuses on how teaching has changed and continues to change in England's educational reform climate. The book argues that many…

Helen Ladd takes a comparative look at policies that the world's industrialized countries are using to assure a supply of high-quality teachers. Her survey puts U.S. educational policies and practices into international perspective. Ladd begins by examining teacher salaries--an obvious, but costly, policy tool. She finds, perhaps surprisingly,…

Describes the Hong Kong education system, discusses policies and initiatives for education quality and school improvement, and reviews the development of school-effectiveness research. Summarizes progress in language teaching and learning, teacher quality, private-sector school development, curriculum development, teaching and learning conditions,…

Significantly, job satisfaction and motivation are very essential to the continuing growth of educational systems around the world and they rank alongside professional knowledge and skills, center competencies, educational resources as well as strategies, in genuinely determining educational success and performance. This study assessed the…

New teachers are unprepared for school politics and the conflicts they experience with administrators, colleagues and policies. Research and practice on mentoring often ignore organizational contexts. This article explores these under-examined contexts, asking: (1) What do mentors need to know and be able to do in relation to school and district…

This report is one of nine detailed case studies of small urban high schools that served as the foundation for the Education Resource Strategies (ERS) report "Strategic Designs: Lessons from Leading Edge Small Urban High Schools." These nine schools were dubbed "Leading Edge Schools" because they stand apart from other high…

This study investigated the success of the Dubuque Community School District (Iowa) in meeting its policy goal for equity and diversity through related policies and practices for staff development, curriculum development, and site-based school initiatives. A survey instrument was developed and pilot tested in collaboration with teachers,…

Interviews with 74 Maori teachers in New Zealand who had resigned from teaching and with 23 other educators examined issues in the retention of Maori teachers. Former Maori teachers are described in terms of: (1) gender and geographical distribution; (2) type of teacher training; (3) colleges of education attended; (4) level of educational…

This book contains essays by leading educational experts reflecting on the Holmes Group report, "Tomorrow's Teachers," and its recommendations and implications for schooling. Titles and authors are: (1) "'Tomorrow's Teachers': The Essential Arguments of the Holmes Group Report" (Michael W. Sedlak); (2) "Teaching:…

Analysis of current Australian educational policy and practice and interviews with 24 teachers newly appointed to small rural schools in Australia indicates a need for specialized training for rural teachers and the development of specific rural staffing policies and selection practices. (LP)

Analyzes policy implications of compensation and working conditions of teachers in three publicly funded early childhood systems: public school prekindergarten and kindergarten, publicly funded child care, and Head Start. Unacceptable levels of teacher turnover and vacancy in nonpublic school programs resulted from differences in compensation and…

Assesses the effects of external constraints on teachers and the types of adaptation strategies they utilize. Interviews teachers in western Canada and finds they experience high stress from external constraints. Observes that teachers' coping options did not compromise their teaching but fed feelings of powerlessness in efforts to improve school…

The purpose of the study reported upon in this paper was to determine what graduates of a teacher education program designed to prepare teachers who will work toward goals of equity and social justice were encountering in their schools and how they felt they were doing with regard to these aims and why. Eleven graduates in their second, fourth or…

This paper is devoted to educational reform strategy and tactics relating to the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the nation's largest teacher unions. As is widely recognized, the teacher unions are the major obstacle to market oriented educational reforms, such as school choice or contracting out…