This article highlights a case study that assesses how graduate-level, in-service science teachers engage in an ePortfolio social pedagogy ecosystem to document their growth in knowledge practices and dispositions in information literacy. The ePortfolio social pedagogy ecosystem and this study are situated within the context of the Catalyst…

Higher education in Romania is passing though an authentic crisis caused by the necessity of our society to adapt to the European Union's demands. University teachers have a huge role in satisfying these requests. They need to possess a lot of competencies, and one of the most important is the managerial competency that will help university…

This paper uses qualitative evidence to describe, explore and discuss the progress of the online teaching training course taught at the Universidade Aberta to Portuguese and foreign professors of higher education institutions. As this is an entirely online course, its pedagogical design results from the combination of the basics of open distance…

There has been a steady decline in the number of secondary and tertiary students studying mathematics and science. Rural schools also report a shortage of qualified teachers in these disciplines. This paper describes the steps taken at the University of New England (UNE) to improve the provision of mathematics and science education (MS) in rural…

Countries that have sustained rapid growth over decades have typically had a strong public commitment to expanding education as well as to improving learning outcomes. South Asian countries have made considerable progress in expanding access to primary and secondary schooling, with countries having achieved near-universal enrollment of the…

This article begins by examining the rationale for the recent policy changes in the criteria for funding teachers' continuing professional development. It illustrates how in the pursuit of greater national competitiveness, the "evaluative" state has increased central control of the provision of in-service education of teachers through a…

Introduces a theme issue concerning the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) and certification, presenting a brief history of the NBPTS and reviewing the collection of articles, which highlight such issues as moving toward a research agenda, social and cultural contexts of NBPTS certification, NBPTS certification and special…

One of the critical issues identified by the North Central Regional Education Laboratory (Cook and Fine 1997) is that the "ultimate worth of professional development for teachers is the essential role it plays in the improvement of student learning." Recently, several reports have been released on the importance of teacher quality (NEA…

Presents lessons learned by following M.A. candidates who were supported by California State University, Los Angeles, as they pursued National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification. Discusses the introduction of NBPTS certification to M.A. candidates, launching certification projects, and what NBPTS certification…

Universities, being asked to train academic staff in teaching methodology, are confronted with the need to balance competency-based training and academic education, to avoid overloading staff time, and to reconcile internal and external requirements. Scotland's Robert Gordon University has found ways to deal with these competing demands. (SK)

This report presents data on National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification for teachers in Southern Regional Educational Board (SREB) states. North Carolina and Florida lead the nation in total numbers of teachers with NBPTS certification. Two-thirds of all NBPTS certificates were awarded to teachers from SREB states in…

A teacher with National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification describes her experiences in achieving that certification, including in her story a description of three of her students who represent the images that define the process of National Board certification for her. (SM)

Examines the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards National Board Certification process, noting the legitimacy of this process for teachers of special needs students and concluding that while National Board Certification is beneficial to the teaching profession at large, for special education, it needs to be reconceptualized and…

Describes a model of inservice Spanish for native Speakers (SNS) teacher training called Heritage Language Teacher Corps offered through a collaboration between the university teachers in accordance with several f the necessary teacher competencies for teaching SNS outlined by the American Association of Speakers of Spanish and Portuguese. (VWL)

A group of mentor teachers recently ranked 11 competencies related to the role of mentoring a beginning teacher. Classroom management was ranked as the most important competency. An additional 24 competencies were identified and are presented with commentary. (TD)