This booklet provides snapshots of teachers' work lives, using information obtained from previous Schools and Staffing Surveys (SASS). The SASS is a set of integrated questionnaires that collect information nationwide about schools and the staff who work in them. A wide variety of schools complete the surveys. The SASS Teacher Questionnaire asks…

This paper presents a study to improve and enrich understanding of how the disclosure or non-disclosure of a lesbian, gay male, or bisexual teacher's sexual orientation at work influences his or her perceptions of job satisfaction and job stress. Consideration was given to the general level of job satisfaction and job stress among lesbian, gay…

In this article, the author presents the words of participants in a professional development academy who discussed challenges associated with implementing mathematics education reforms in their classrooms and schools. The goal is to provide insight into the complexity of issues that hamper the transformation of the mathematics education culture,…

Nineteen crucial problems that are inhibiting continued improvement of English and reading education are identified by a committee of the Connecticut State Department of Education. The problems are grouped under four main headings: (1) content and method, (2) articulation, (3) teaching conditions, (4) teacher education and reeducation. Some of the…

A study was conducted to examine the challenges and sources of support of new community college instructors during the first year of hire. Specifically, the study examined the problems new faculty encountered with regard to students, teaching load, collegial relationships, administration or college governance, and faculty organizations; the effect…

This study used focused interviews, participant observations, and document review to identify five organizational and personal factors that 40 teachers (general education, special education, and specialists) in a small rural school district reported as affecting their receptivity to change: (1) the degree to which schools are ready for change; (2)…

To determine facts and opinions concerning the status of music in all Ohio schools (public and private), questionnaires were sent to the 4,389 K-12 teachers listed in the 1981 Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) Directory and survey instruments were mailed to superintendents of each of Ohio's 614 school districts. Approximately 47.5% of the…

This document on the working conditions of urban teachers reports data from a survey of 31 elementary, middle, and secondary schools in five urban school districts. More than 400 interviews were conducted with teachers, school administrators, central office personnel, district officials, board members, and union officials. The observations,…

This paper focuses on the perceptions of all administrators (N=24) and teachers (N=165) in a school district regarding the success of a merit pay program in providing a motivational climate for teachers. In 1984 a school district in New Hampshire instituted a Performance Based Salary Program (PBSP). This paper addresses the following research…

The high national attrition rate among vocational education teachers (50 percent within 6 years) prompted a study to determine trade and industrial teachers' reasons for leaving and to make recommendations to increase teacher retention. Following a literature review of teachers' motivation and reasons for attrition, interviews were conducted with…

Advocates development of a campus culture in which faculty can be colleagues to each other in teaching by sharing what they know, critiquing each other's work, assisting each other to improve, and creating conditions for recognition and reward of teaching. Covers the role of peer review and briefly describes some institutions' efforts. (JB)

Reports on a survey of attitudes and teaching methods of 20 selected music teachers from large urban areas in the United States. Discusses the teachers' opinions and suggestions on preservice teacher education, classroom techniques, and improvement of urban music education. Includes survey questions and teacher responses. (CFR)

The purpose of this study was to explore teachers' perceptions of physical education classes in an urban Korean primary school. Furthermore, this study tried to interpret how teachers' beliefs were reflected in their teaching. One primary school with seventeen teachers was selected as the site for a case study. Data were collected by participant…

In an effort to provide the people of Iowa with a clearer sense of the needs for improvement in the state's 15 public community colleges, this report examines problem areas and causes and presents recommendations for improving educational quality. First, a discussion is provided of four key problem areas identified through a survey of over 1,000…

This study examined intern attrition within one urban secondary Professional Development School (PDS). The secondary school was 80 percent minority. Data were collected over 2 years using participant observation, semi-structured interviews, PDS questionnaires, intern personal journals, and document analysis of resignation letters. Informants…