Traditionally serving expatriate elites, international schools now increasingly cater to local middle-class families in developing countries. With the industry's explosive growth, attention turns to the role of expatriate teachers in preserving the institutional legitimacy of non-traditional international schools. However, expatriate teachers'…

This study explored regular classroom teachers' perceptions of highly able readers and their actual practice of gifted education in the educational contexts of China and Scotland. This study is qualitative in nature and questionnaires and interviews were used to gather data in Chinese and Scottish public primary schools. The analysis indicated…

This paper presents an exploratory study of English and Swedish teachers' perspectives on the role of homework in year-one children's learning of number. In order to ensure cultural integrity, data were analysed independently by two colleagues in each context. Analyses yielded three broad but cross-culturally common themes reflecting culturally…

This paper is a critical investigation of a group of eight Muslim religious education (RE) teachers' views of fundamental British values in education (FBV). Findings demonstrate that as teachers of multicultural RE, they experience dissonance accommodating the requirements of FBV, and are critical of its divisive effects upon their students. They…

This paper examines how marginalisation of students in schools can be understood and addressed. Usually the term marginalisation is associated with existing categories, which mostly relate to policy formulations, and shape teachers' expectations of these groups as well as their practices. Using examples from the author's research, it is argued…

To further understand differential perceptions of work and wellbeing this paper considers the influence of gender and years in current role (YCR). We surveyed 399 secondary school teachers (class teachers n = 185; middle managers n = 175 and senior managers n = 38) from the central belt of Scotland. Sixty-six per cent of middle managers reported…

The present paper examines Greek secondary education teachers' views on and attitudes towards in-classroom students' misbehaviour. Eight hundred and sixty-nine participants provided information, firstly, on the frequency and the forms of in-class misbehaviour incidents, secondly, on their beliefs about the origins of students' misbehaviour, and,…

Unauthorized absence from school, commonly labelled truancy, absenteeism, and dropout, is a problem that has been increasingly noted in recent years by the National Agency for Education, county councils, communities, and media in Sweden. It is also a prioritized issue in Europe and worldwide. Many students leave school without credentials or a…

Hong Kong secondary schools have difficulty in integrating guidance, or counselling, and discipline into schooling. In some schools, discipline is overdeveloped while guidance is underdeveloped. The positive aspect of the caring system is distorted as part of the provision of discipline. This article looks at the distinction between guidance and…

Focuses on pupils' and teachers' perceptions of their situation in school. The author, a teacher-counselor in a large inner-city school, draws on her experience to provide examples of ways in which children see their situations. Stresses the children's attempt to derive meaningfulness from their time in school, and points to the significance of…

A survey of 198 British elementary teachers revealed that 51 percent believe they were spending too much time on behavior problems. Three-quarters of the teachers identifed boys as their most troublesome students. Asked to identify the most troublesome classroom behaviors, the teachers selected "talking out of turn" and "hindering…

Discusses the interaction between children's behavior, and the way in which teachers perceive them. Considers the extent to which there is a relationship between the individual teacher's view of children, his response to difficult children, and the number and nature of children reported to present problems. (Editor/RK)

The metaphor of spaciousness emerged in an examination of one math teacher and one class of students. Spacious math embraces large problems with mathematically rich activities. Spacious teaching and learning is large enough to include social relationships. Students felt that the teacher, group, and class organization mattered to learning. (SK)

Reports the results of an empirical study of psychological stress and strain among teachers. A number of strain variables were sampled: various aspects of job satisfaction and felt pressure; self-esteem assessed against the perceived qualities of other teachers; and clinically validated measures of depression, anxiety, somaticism, and…