There has recently been growing interest in the relationship between second language (L2) writing development and the institutional contexts in which this process is embedded. The present study examines this relationship by reporting on an eight-month qualitative investigation of international university students and their perspectives on the…

Rio Salado is a nontraditional community college that is highly integrated in the global economy. This chapter describes the Rio Salado College systems approach, which relies almost exclusively on adjunct faculty to accomplish its mission, vision, and purposes.

This paper investigates the code-switching behaviour of two native speaker teachers teaching their mother tongue--French and Korean, respectively--to predominantly English monolingual students in New Zealand secondary schools. A close analysis of these teachers' classroom discourse and their perceptions about classroom language use reveals a range…

This paper describes a case study of 2 departments in a school, where teachers were inquired about their school's needs for improvement and how the institution and their department impacted upon their own professional development. The results show that the teachers' experiences of professional development, their interpersonal relationships within…

The decoupling argument--that schools respond to pressures from the institutional environment by decoupling changes in structures from classroom instruction--has been a central feature of institutional theory since the early 1970s. This study suggests the need to rethink this argument. Drawing on a study of the relationship between changing ideas…

The purpose of this study was to understand factors that influenced the career trajectories of veteran urban secondary physical education teachers. The careers of these teachers were studied from the theoretical perspectives of teacher efficacy and teacher career development. Participants included 9 secondary urban physical education teachers (4…

This report summarizes the conceptual framework, findings, and methods of the Teacher Beliefs Study, an intensive, two-year program of research on the structures and functions of teachers' belief systems. Eight teachers in three school districts were videotaped over the course of a semester and were interviewed for a total of approximately 20…

This report reviews: (1) instruments for measuring student perceptions of college; (2) inventories of college characteristics; (3) institutional self-studies; (4) instruments for measuring faculty perceptions of the college environment; and (5) studies on teaching evaluation. The report also contains the results of several surveys of faculty and…

Findings of a study that examined parent and student perceptions of school learning environments are presented in this document. The data are from the 1993 National Household Education Survey (NHES:93), a national survey conducted by Westat for the National Center for Education Statistics. This report is based on data from telephone interviews…

The value systems of faculty at three junior colleges in California (each representing an urban, rural, or suburban character) are compared, and the institutional personality of each college is described in terms of the perceptions held by its instructors. The specific purposes of this study are to: (1) identify the values held by 238 staff…

Suggests that the cultural and institutional environment in higher education can affect an instructor's teaching self. Draws upon the experiences of the authors who have similar backgrounds yet teach in different institutional contexts (a large midwestern university and a small west coast teaching college). Includes references. (CMK)

Reports on a study of teachers' attitudes and moral judgment. Finds that teachers who participated in a Just Community Approach Program changed their beliefs about fairness, justice, and responsibility. Suggests that this type of staff development can help teachers deal with situational conflicts. (CFR)

One South Bronx (New York) school is untouched by vandalism because the teachers have made a commitment to the school and its students, expressing their concern and approval. The extensive costs of vandalism in other schools could be reduced if teachers were trained to develop positive school climates. (PGD)

Argues that effective planning in Australian school systems must account for the attitude of everyone involved in the school's operation when developing youth policy. Describes the transition from school to work from the viewpoints of the educational system, administrative organization, classroom teachers, and students. Discusses the…

This article, based on a longitudinal interview study of 50 new teachers in Massachusetts, presents respondents' reasons for staying in their schools, moving to new schools, or leaving public school teaching within their first 3 years of teaching. Although the respondents' prior career orientations, financial situations, and preparation played a…