Four secondary schools engaged in a program of individualized schooling were selected for this longitudinal study based on theories of decision-making, leadership, and job satisfaction. Researchers examined the relationship between staff job satisfaction on the one hand and the amount of decision-making and the staff's perceptions of principal…

Ratings of the physical attractiveness of 11-to-12-year-old children were obtained, and the association between physical attractiveness and teachers' judgements of these children were examined. Teachers revealed a systematic tendency to rate girls higher than boys, and significant sex differences were observed in teachers' ratings of…

The purpose of this research report was to analyze the effectiveness and attitudes of students in grades six through eight who are enrolled in a balanced literacy program. There were 188 students enrolled in the program ranging in ages from 11 to 17. Twenty percent of the students in the program have been retained at least once. The program…

This study evaluated teachers' attitudes toward, reactions to, and knowledge of using portfolios in language arts classrooms. In May 1996, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade teachers in city and county public schools in Memphis, Tennessee, completed a 14-item questionnaire that asked: (1) if they currently used portfolios in evaluating language arts…

This paper reports on part one of a study that examined the effectiveness of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) Program as a drug resistance, violence avoidance program in West Vancouver, Canada schools. Attitudes toward DARE held by students, teachers, and parents of children in the program were examined in order to evaluate how DARE was…

This case study presents a portrait of one English teacher within her school and in her professional contexts. It is part of a series of reports investigating methods of successful English instruction which reconciles professional trends with individual practice. The case study examines data collected during 1996-1998 from the classroom of Gail…

Part I of the Learning Climate in Schools evaluation brief looked at violence and disruptive behavior in the North Carolina public schools from several perspectives, including that of teachers expressed in an annual survey. Part II examines teacher perceptions of learning and organizational climates using another set of teacher responses to the…

Studies the status of the mathematics reform effort in Ohio, specifically measuring the dissemination of the standards and teachers' opinions of Ohio's Competency-Based Mathematics Model to determine whether there were significant differences in knowledge of the standards and opinions of the Competency-Based Mathematics Model based on teacher…

A case study is provided of Chinese teachers' (n=16) views on culture in both their English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) learning and teaching. Findings reveal participants' major support for the role of culture in their EFL learning, but also suggest the need for a greater understanding of how to incorporate culture into their own EFL classes. (JL)

Describes the practices of an eighth-grade English teacher who emphasizes a language-rich curriculum and how she balances reading and writing activities; also discussed are how she integrates grammar instruction, parent involvement, modeling of effect writing practices, core readings, peer conferences, teacher-student trust, individualized…

Presents the case study of a second-year middle school science teacher's beliefs about science and science teaching, and the influence of these beliefs upon classroom instruction. Discusses the teacher's struggle to reconcile conflicting beliefs affecting strategies and outcomes, and the conflict between classroom needs and roles resulting from…

Discusses the dilemmas faced by middle and high school teachers whose students are struggling to read, yet whose training does not prepare them to solve this problem. Describes the Reading Initiative, a program that will support teacher development through study groups to help teachers improve both the teaching and learning of reading through…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to provide an examination of beliefs, context factors, and practices of exemplary teachers that lead to a technology-enriched curriculum. Three middle school teachers participated. Using both direct and participant observation the Spradley model was followed with three rounds of observations: (1)…

Maine was the first state to put laptops in the hands of an entire grade of students. This interpretive case study of two middle school science-math teachers was driven by the general question: Given ubiquitous computing, how do teachers use computers in constructing curriculum and delivering instruction? Specifically, the researchers sought to…

The purpose of this study was to collect reliability and validity data on the School Characteristics Inventory (SCI), a quantitative measure based on Sternberg's (2000) theory of contextual modifiability. Data were collected from a national sample of middle school teachers and from teachers participating in a 3-year study investigating teachers'…