Describes efforts to improve curriculum and instruction at one failing urban elementary school by: using analyses of standardized test scores as the entry point for an assessment and intervention process; helping teachers understand their responsibility for better teaching practices; and providing intervention services and activities to enhance…

Presents the story of the number one for-profit school in the United States, the Thomas A. Edison Charter Academy. Teachers had a heavier workload, but better pay and perks. Shortly after opening, many teachers were discontent with the long days and calendar, lack of follow through on promised benefits, and other issues. Reactions to this…

In this study, 172 elementary teachers were surveyed to determine the state of social studies teaching in their classrooms. Data was collected during the spring of 2004 in various geographic locations within an urban district in southern California. The survey measured teachers' time teaching core subjects, how teachers chose to spend their time…

This study examined the impact of a professional development intervention aimed at helping elementary teachers incorporate elements of students' home language and culture into science instruction. The intervention consisted of instructional units and materials and teacher workshops. The research involved 43 third- and fourth-grade teachers at six…

Technology is an integral part of educational goals today. A study of technology use in a large urban Midwestern school district found that teachers have equipment available to them, but it is oftentimes inadequate, inconvenient, or not working. Teachers would like to use technology, but in reality they don't use it. Part of the reason is lack of…

Assesses the capacity of elementary teachers from a large urban school district to provide quality mathematics and science instruction. Identifies strengths and barriers in instructional and assessment practices, adequacy of factors affecting teaching such as time, materials, and class size, and perceptions toward teaching mathematics and science.…

Considers how science inquiry may be different with diverse groups of students. Discusses teachers' role in identifying effective approaches to science inquiry and uses data from empirical research to illustrate differences in the ways urban fourth-grade teachers perceive and engage in science inquiry with diverse students. Focuses on three…

Three case studies of teachers in a disadvantaged, urban elementary school are examined to determine how teachers understand recent mathematics reforms. Although all teachers have access to learn about reforms, this access does not guarantee common knowledge. This leads to questions about systemic reform and the notion of alignment in a…

Developed a model and an operational measure of collective teacher efficacy and tested the measure in a pilot study involving 70 teachers. Also used the instrument to study collective teacher efficacy and academic achievement in 47 urban elementary schools. Results show collective teacher efficacy to be positively associated with student-level…

Addresses the social organization of the teachers' workplace in urban magnet schools, investigating the effects of several domains relevant to teacher performance in traditional versus magnet urban elementary schools. Teacher surveys indicate that there are many more commonalities among teachers in the two settings than are usually reported in the…

The current study explores the relationship between perceived teacher efficacy and specific practices of family involvement exhibited by 110 elementary school teachers from a large urban school district. Bandura's construct of self-efficacy provided the theoretical framework for examining teacher efficacy. The study investigated the predictive…

This study describes an elementary science model of professional development through mentoring by university science education professors working with teachers at a private elementary school in a regional city in Queensland, Australia. A cross-cultural collaboration involving professors from the United States and Australia resulted in the socially…

This study of Chicago teachers' assignments in mathematics and writing in grades 3, 6, and 8 shows that students who received assignments requiring more challenging intellectual work also achieved greater than average gains on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills in reading and mathematics, and demonstrated higher performance in reading, mathematics,…

This book presents the uncensored diary of a young, beginning elementary school teacher. She started teaching in an inner-city, Chicago public school, where gangs attacked her class and her own students stabbed a substitute with a pencil. The most trying challenges she faced were from administrators who questioned her unconventional techniques…

This article presents the results of the initial stage of research on grades 4-8 teachers' writing instruction within rural and urban contexts across Canada. Teachers' goals and their use of digital technologies and multimedia are examined within rural and urban schools in five eastern provinces. Through half-hour telephone interviews with 54…