This report is based upon the views and opinions of 2,670 students and 137 teachers in high schools and middle schools in four school districts in California. Quotes from students and teachers are used as illustrations, and as reminders of the human dimension to the schools' problems and successes. The report is divided into sections representing…

This article discusses teacher burnout which scholars define as a condition caused by depersonalization, exhaustion, and a diminished sense of accomplishment. A psychological model of how stress leads to burnout describes it as a syndrome resulting from teachers' inability to protect themselves against threats to their self esteem and well-being.…

Over the past 15 years, charter schools and teachers unions have battled in state legislatures, the courts and the media. But with increasing frequency, the two groups are facing each other in the everyday operation of schools. This report summarizes the opinions expressed at a meeting of local state, and national leaders from both the charter…

Significantly, job satisfaction and motivation are very essential to the continuing growth of educational systems around the world and they rank alongside professional knowledge and skills, center competencies, educational resources as well as strategies, in genuinely determining educational success and performance. This study assessed the…

With No Child Left Behind's call for highly qualified teachers, the stakes for recruiting and retaining teachers have never been more important. Alabama, like other states, has struggled to develop policies and programs that effectively staff all classrooms with quality educators. The Center for Teaching Quality, with the support of SERVE, has…

In 2004-2005, North Carolina's average teacher turnover rate was nearly 13 percent, ranging from a high of 29 percent to a low of 4 percent. Turnover among teachers in low-performing schools was substantially higher, with a low of 12 percent and a high of 57 percent. North Carolina has put strategies in place to address teacher retention but how…

One of the most important aspects of NCLB is its demand that states ensure a "highly qualified" teacher for every student. This provision draws much-needed attention to the importance of ensuring equitable student access to high-quality teachers, write the authors. Some aspects of the provision have raised legitimate concerns--including…

This book is based on research focusing on "creative teaching" in the British National Curriculum. The aim has been to test and fill out the concept of creative teaching in a wider range of schools and with teachers working in markedly different circumstances than before the 1988 Education Reform Act, which established a National…

Community college department chairs have many diverse responsibilities. One role which needs to be given more emphasis is that of "promoting excellent teaching." The three conditions which must be present for a department chair to begin promoting excellent teaching are open, honest, and positive communication; the ability to provide immediate…

This paper encourages teachers to consider teaching as a performing art. By using the theater as a metaphor for effective, innovative instructional methods, the author parallels various aspects of performing arts with various aspects of teaching. The "stage" represents the classroom and "sets" the teaching environment; the "set" characterizes the…

The rationale for and obstacles to faculty development are considered, and recommendations for administrators to follow in initiating and implementing programs are offered. Faculty development is needed for at least three important reasons: knowing a subject does not mean an individual can effectively teach it; faculty need to learn how to teach…

Three broad areas of recommendations in the teacher education reform agenda are addressed in this paper. These areas are preparation and continuing education of teachers, the conditions of teaching in the schools, and the requirements of teacher certification and licensure. The reform recommendations are aimed at: (1) the professional status of…

Composition teachers can learn from nonteachers who evaluate writing. A comparison of nonteacher and teacher responses to the same student writing revealed that the teachers were much more negative in their evaluations. Studies have also indicated that teachers did not grade according to their own declared criteria. These inconsistencies and…

Rising Australian unemployment in the 1970s, increasing part-time employment, and large fluctuations in teacher supply and demand has made Australian teachers interested in more flexible employment patterns. One such pattern, permanent part-time teaching (PPTT), involves teaching at least 12 hours of school per week at fixed times with prorated…

Prepared as part of a comprehensive study of reading in Virginia, this report contains data gathered in a survey of elementary and secondary reading teachers and specialists and adult basic education teachers to determine teacher needs in that state. The report provides an analysis of the responses to the 72-item questionnaire used in the survey…