Examines collaborative decision making in middle schools and methods to facilitate this underused strategy. Examines research on collaboration in the areas of school environment, classroom instruction, student learning, and decision making in schools. Factors of successful environments are examined including principal commitment, trust, focus on…

Constructed and tested three inventories of teacher beliefs: Teachers' Beliefs About Parents, Teachers' Beliefs About Administrators, and Perceptions of Parental Beliefs Concerning Teachers. Inventories were completed by 462 elementary, secondary, and special education teachers. All measures seemed to possess reasonable construct validity and…

Reports on a study of 128 first-year teachers. The data suggest that beginning teachers are selective in whom they ask for help. Most sought help from experienced teachers they perceived as friendly or caring, whether they were mentors or not. (SM)

Measures level of interest in 3 kinds of rewards for work (intrinsic, extrinsic, and collegial) for 536 public school teachers, 130 administrators, and 559 university faculty, using a Likert-type scale. Higher interest in colleagueship and intrinsic rewards was associated with educator participation in a school-university collaboration project.…

A four-year longitudinal case study of changes in the teaching of reading and writing made by one female elementary school teacher is described. Changes in the teacher's beliefs and practices and the influence of reflective thinking and collaboration promoted by a master's program and research project are described. (SLD)

Provides examples of situations in which day-care teachers must balance the needs of students, parents, staff, and supervisors, pointing out how a person's perspective can shape his or her view of a situation. Notes that teachers need to examine situations from the point of view of parents, students, and supervisors to do their job effectively.…

Collaborative biography was used to examine the effects of a school-university partnership on two elementary teachers. The partnership made teachers fully responsible for supervising and evaluating student teachers. The article discusses common and differential effects emerging from apparent interactions with teachers' personalities and career…

The British 5-14 Development Programme aims to promote continuity and progression in student learning and experience, particularly during the elementary-to-secondary transition. Staff interviews and data collected in English and mathematics departments of five Scottish secondary schools examined elementary-secondary liaison activities, elementary…

Investigated the effects of student teaching in urban, suburban, and rural settings on beginning teachers' attitudes about success, multiculturalism, and interactions with diverse parents. Noted the effect of a program for facilitating school-home relationships and improving urban education. Teachers who student taught in urban settings perceived…

Recounts the first year of a university/school district partnership to create Master's level cohorts of inservice teachers, describing: how the program emerged, program organization, and problems encountered. The program's initial goals are explained, and participants' voices are presented. Their goals went beyond those specified in planning. They…

Parents' nostalgia and waning confidence in teachers' competence are primary obstacles to improving schools. Teaching and public education are at a crossroads. One road involves teachers and parent partners in a broad social movement that ultimately protects and redefines teacher professionalism. The other leads to deprofessionalization of…

College faculty, administrators, and trustees must abandon the posture of blame and advance to shared responsibility. But they must confront two uncomfortable truths: some academics may not be able to sever self-interest in order to develop a new strategic vision, and trustees and public officials may be unwilling to examine expensive programs…

Notes that relationships between parents, administrators, and teachers are essential to quality early childhood education. Examines the role of good communication skills in building positive home-school relationships. Discusses the importance of developing effective listening skills in order to understand parents' needs and concerns, and how the…

Discusses the efficiency of the University of Southern Maine's Extended Teacher Education Program (ETEP) in promoting teachers as learners, teaching for learning, and learning to change. Results from longitudinal surveys of program participants indicated that stakeholders considered the strongest dimension of the ETEP to be teaching as a learning…

New Jersey, like many other states, is experiencing a significant influx of new immigrants--from countries such as India, Pakistan, China, Russia, Poland, Nigeria, Liberia, Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Haiti. In addition, New Jersey remains one of the most segregated states in the country, educating the majority of its African-American families…