This article will draw on an investigation of teachers' research in a small-scale project involving 19 schools in the North West region of England. The teachers engaged in the research were funded by a government initiative, the Best Practice Research Scholarships Programme, and were mentored and tutored by university staff. The sample is very…

This is the second in a series of reports that examines the role of coaches in facilitating school change. The report explains that as coaching, or external facilitation of school change, becomes a more widespread strategy for helping schools undergo comprehensive restructuring to create more professional collaborative cultures and to increase…

Teachers with seven years of teaching experience or less (n = 10) participating in a large-scale mathematics professional development program in the United States were interviewed. The goal of this qualitative study was to better understand less experienced teachers' reactions to professional development and professional support in the teaching…

The authors draw on data from weekly e-mail responses to a questionnaire completed by beginning teachers placed in one-year, paid, internships. Interns were assigned mentors who responded every several weeks, also via e-mail, to a questionnaire about the interns and their development. Data from 23 interns were analyzed. Seven themes were…

Cargill Scholars is a comprehensive, five-year program that aims to improve students' scholastic performance by raising academic expectations, preventing high-risk behavior, and improving life skills. The program serves 50 socio-economically-disadvantaged children who attend school in Minneapolis or its northern and western suburbs. The program…

Recently developed Professional Development School standards underscore the importance of professional learning community, inquiry, shared decision-making and a focus on student learning. These standards closely mirror the goals of "Critical Friends Groups," a significant movement in education to improve student achievement through…

This study probes more deeply on defining the "reform agenda" and answering the question, "How do coaches balance pushing the reform agenda and meeting the immediate needs of school staff?" This study first teases apart what coaches mean by "reform agenda" and "immediate needs." The term "reform…