Studies have addressed the substantive knowledge of teachers and the content that is actually taught in classrooms. Some research has indicated that teachers have difficulty teaching certain areas because they themselves lack sufficient understanding about those areas. In considering the kind or amount of subject matter knowledge teachers need,…

In spring 1986, a study was conducted by Lakeland Community College (Ohio) to determine whether community colleges were anticipating a substantial faculty turnover, what minimum and desired qualifications were being used to fill full-time faculty positions, and the importance of selected educational and vocational experiences for technical and…

A study examined the attitudes of experienced vocational agriculture teachers concerning the proper ingredients for excellence in teaching. The 14 Ohio teachers who constituted the study population were selected from 130 teachers nominated by Ohio state supervisors and teacher educators as being master teachers; the grounds for selection were that…

The recent spate of national studies about schools is largely based on analyses of what schools do, how they do it, what the results are, and what they ought to be doing in light of present and future demands. Recommendations from these studies appear to fall into four categories of structure changes, content changes, value changes, and people…

Requiring administrators to develop and implement a plan for attracting and employing high quality personnel is an important responsibility of the board of education. In the West Linn school district in Oregon, efforts are directed at recruiting beginning teachers and outstanding teachers presently employed in other districts. A representative…

AS PART OF THE WORK OF THE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT PROJECT FOR DELINQUENCY PREVENTION, THIS STUDY COMPARED LOW-INCOME AREA (TARGET) AND MIDDLE-INCOME AREA (COMPARISON) SCHOOLS TO EXAMINE THE DIFFERENCES IN THE TEACHING STAFFS AND THE TEACHER RETENTION TURNOVER RATES IN THESE SCHOOLS, AND TO ANALYZE THE DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTS OF THESE RATES. ALL OF THE…

A three-fold exploratory analysis of teaching excellence is presented, encompassing diverse perspectives on excellence, the mission of the university, and the curriculum development process. Ideas about teaching excellence are drawn from the literature of pedagogy and philosophy, and desirable teacher characteristics are cited: commitment to the…

This work addresses itself to improving the process of teacher selection by providing more information about teaching ability. The study reported was undertaken to determine the effects of incorporating into the educational placement credentials a set of materials relating to a science teacher's classroom performance. In the report, past research…

This paper addresses policy issues raised by recent recommendations to improve the quality of teacher education by moving to fifth-year certification. It describes career patterns of beginning teachers with different undergraduate preparation paths, and analyzes the effects of new teachers' background characteristics, educational investments, and…

This discussion among seven experts in gifted education covers: (1) curriculum and formal/informal instruction; (2) social climate; (3) teacher characteristics; and (4) identification of gifted students for a special high school in Israel. (Author/KM)

Survey responses of 243 deans of teacher education programs ranked the following factors as the highest indicators of quality for initial selection of faculty members: preparation in area of specialization; unquestionable integrity; publication in refereed journals; specificity as to teaching assignment and type of institution; supervisor reports;…

Presents an overview of research on teacher selection procedures. Provides results of a survey of 118 high school principals that confirmed previous findings: teacher selection decisions are influenced by factors other than consideration of teaching performance. Reports that age discrimination was found in the selection of physical education…

This study describes how elementary and secondary California teachers nominated as successful in their microcomputer-based instruction teach science and mathematics, and how their computer usage varies in relation to (1) teacher characteristics (computer and subject matter knowledge, and attitudes toward computers); and (2) district, school, and…

This paper develops alternative ways of measuring shortages of mathematics and science teachers, and it reviews the evidence based on these alternative measures. Two factors contributing to such shortages are the placement of recent qualified graduates outside of teaching and the misassignment of certified graduates who go into teaching.…

As all educators face the pressures of accountability, it has become more important to hire effective teachers skilled at fostering outstanding academic achievement. This book is designed to provide both school administrators and teachers with information and inspiration about what goes into being an effective teacher. Chapter 1 describes a…