This Alabama edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) 2009 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the third annual look at state policies impacting the teaching profession. It is hoped that this report will help focus attention on areas where state policymakers can make changes that will have a positive impact on teacher…

In order to assess the effects of reform efforts to recruit more academically able teacher candidates over the previous decade, this study was designed to determine the relationships between selected personal attributes and the differences in the affective characteristics of a 1980's sample and a 1990's sample of teacher candidates. The subjects…

This paper on minority teachers in the field of mathematics begins with statistics on minorities in America, in order to put the problem of underrepresentation in perspective. It then showcases programs that appear to be successful in recruiting and/or retaining minorities in teaching mathematics at the school, college, and university levels. The…

A survey was conducted to determine whether the mandates of equal opportunity are being met and whether a diverse group of teacher educators is being employed by higher education institutions. The "Chronicle of Higher Education" was chosen to provide a list of available jobs in higher education. A random sample of the advertisements of teacher…

Teacher education programs can benefit from research on student retention. By focusing on intervention for the very youngest student, failure at early levels may be reduced. Teachers must be taught to meet the needs of these students and to work more effectively with high-risk students who are potential drop-outs. Teachers can help at-risk…

This paper addresses the progressive efforts to reform teaching in the United States by making it into more of a profession. Three main components of teacher education, each designed to address a particular aspect of the teacher's work, are discussed: (1) the arts and science component in which prospective teachers acquire knowledge of the subject…

A brief overview is presented of some successful minority teacher education recruitment programs. The sample of programs includes the following: secondary education programs targeting junior and senior high school students; teaching profession magnet programs; articulation programs between four- and two-year colleges for community college…

This book offers a collection of papers from a conference focused on various aspects of school/college collaboration, edited so as to form a coherent presentation. The papers are grouped into five chapters, each with its own theme. Chapter 1, on the nature of collaboration, aims to promote inquiry into research, theory, and application concerning…

Creating alternative opportunities for mid- and late-career change teacher education candidates has been a controversial issue in teacher education for a number of years. Many professional teacher organizations and teacher education societies have resisted or discouraged the development of programs which opened their doors to professionals in…

The history and development of the U.S. higher education system are analyzed, using Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) and its branch campuses as an example. Attention is also directed to the personality (i.e., characteristics and attitudes) of the individuals who function within the system/organization, methods of incorporating…

The economic, human, and social impacts of mandatory retirement are addressed in a brief presented by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) to the Subcommittee on Equality Rights. There is a possibility that the coming into force of equality rights may remove mandatory retirement. It has been estimated that by 1989 removal…

Perspectives on how to improve U.S. education are provided in an open letter signed by 37 college presidents and chancellors who attended a September 1987 Spring Hill conference. The conference focused largely on the issue outlined in "A Nation Prepared: Teachers for the 21st Century," a report sponsored by the Carnegie Forum on Education and the…

This report discusses college faculty enlargement through the expanded use of part-time teachers. A review of current practices shows the most fruitful source of part-timers to be local business and industry, professional colleagues of the full-time faculty, and graduate students. There is little evidence, however, that part-time teachers are…

Discusses methods of encouraging more people to pursue the teaching profession and considers more effective selection procedures designed to eliminate unacceptable candidates. Examines methods used to improve teacher training such as making use of practicing teachers in "partnership" programs. Concludes that teacher morale and satisfaction must be…

Explores how competency tests and other measures can be used to improve the quality of teaching in the current context of teacher preparation. Proposes a teacher education model aimed at early motivation toward teaching careers, stronger subject-matter competence, and master's degree level preparation. (GC)