After reviewing the literature on the power of collaborative community in schools, the authors describe interview data collected from educators involved in collaborative change projects related to literacy. First, the authors interviewed a teacher from a middle school team that had changed their literacy instruction toward a more inclusive and…

Investigated the collaborative-research process between an elementary physical educator and a university researcher, describing what the process meant to each during their long-term collaboration. Data from participant observation with an autobiographical component indicated that there were two major themes: shared privilege and shared…

Professional development in education has recently undergone rapid change. A few years ago, most teachers did not have a voice in the types of sessions they attended or the opportunity to connect what they learned to their classrooms. Most sessions were at an awareness level only with no follow-up. All that has changed. The move toward greater…

How should district and school leaders improve education for students traditionally underserved by public education: by increasing control over teaching and curriculum, or by empowering groups of teachers to have more collective autonomy, responsibility, and opportunities for professional learning? The second approach--promoting multiple…

A technical assistance project in a rural Virginia school district included the goal of building professional learning communities among the district's teachers. Three instruments that measure various elements of a learning community culture were scheduled to be administered to teachers at the beginning, midpoint, and end of the 4-year project.…

Explored how middle level integrativist teachers working in a conventional school district sustain their commitment to integrativist learning. Used ethnographic interviewing, which uncovered four themes in these teachers' perspectives: (1) the very different nature of relationships among teachers and with students; (2) struggles with instructional…

Explored the journey and progress of elementary teachers conducting action research within science and mathematics, examining their perspectives of teaching, empowerment, research, and professional development through team planning. Data from journals, activities, observations, surveys, and interviews indicated that an initial stumbling block to…

Under the leadership of State Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum, with the support of the South Carolina Department of Education's Division of Teaching Quality (DTQ) and the South Carolina Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention and Advancement (CERRA), South Carolina became only the second state in the nation to study teacher…

Reflective dialogue is still very much an unexplored area in teacher education in Pakistan. This article presents findings of a study that engaged four teachers in the process of reflective dialogue in a school in Karachi, Pakistan. It explores the teachers' response to the process and possible reasons. It also examines the role played by those…

Describes members' responsibilities within effective middle school interdisciplinary teams. States that principals are responsible for hiring, orientation, teacher empowerment, and staff development, while existing team members help new members by building a new team identity and developing collaborative relationships. Asserts that new teachers…

Describes the American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, discussing the importance of sustained professional development and collaboration in achieving reflective practice and teacher change and describing how social and cultural history and literature and innovative critical pedagogy work together to enrich curricula, advance…

This paper shows that policymakers and researchers have changed their views about school improvement and the role of teachers in the process, suggesting that educational reform initiatives challenge classroom teachers to make sense of new policies, ideas, programs, and their own work. It examines calls for reform, highlighting: the 1957 launch of…

Curriculum standards can help educators achieve important student outcomes. However, only through collaboration, empowerment, and leadership will meaningful school improvement occur. This paper examines the importance of (1) collaborative action research to help teachers assess and improve their own practice and (2) leadership support to encourage…

Summarizes trends for teacher professional-development research and standards documents. Identifies several characteristics common to science-education professional-development development programs that can be used to increase the likelihood of program implementation and success. Contains 63 references. (WRM)

Examined the motivational effects of a teacher research initiative within an urban alternative school, studying participating teachers' self-efficacy, empowerment, collaboration, and perceptions of school climate via surveys, interviews, observations, and field notes. Growth occurred in general and personal teaching efficacies from pretest to…