In this study, 12 preschool teachers in Queensland, Australia were given opportunities to record and describe their work within their specific teaching context, as well as within the wider contexts of the school campus and the educational and social system. Subjects kept a reflective journal each day over a 2-week period, and entries frequently…

A study of the conditions and resources of teachers sought to assess, through a national survey of 1,789 elementary and secondary school teachers, the degree to which four factors--job resources, decision making, communication with building-level administrators, and correlates of teacher satisfaction and career commitment--affect the teachers'…

Three scenarios are offered for the future of teaching. The first includes reforms such as requirements for a full liberal arts program for teacher candidates, a fifth year of professional education, a carefully supervised induction, and tests of subject-matter knowledge, professional knowledge, and performance. The second scenario examines the…

Environmental differences for speech departments at large and small colleges are not simply of scale; there are qualitative as well as quantitative differences. At small colleges, faculty are hired as teachers, rather than as researchers. Because speech teachers at small colleges must be generalists, and because it is often difficult to replace…

The opinions of the faculty at the College of the Sequoias, California, regarding their office facilities and scheduled office hours were surveyed. Ninety-nine faculty members completed a 10-item questionnaire, which is enclosed. It was found that the maintenance of faculty office hours and being available for students was viewed as an important…

Job satisfactions of industrial arts teacher educators and the importance they place upon their professional role activities, work environment, departmental supervision, and relationships with colleagues were measured and assessed. The National Job Satisfaction Study Instrument (NJSSI) was developed by the investigators to collect information to…

A new integrated nursing curriculum at the University of Connecticut School of Nursing, representative of a change from a traditional to an integrated nursing program, required teachers to become generalists in nursing theory and practice. The author describes the new curriculum framework, redefined faculty teams, and clinical experience. (MF)

Control over content, teaching, and evaluation of social studies is moving outside of the classroom. Organized action is needed to see that teachers do not lose their autonomy. (RM)

This book argues that the redefinition of teaching begins with teachers' developing a positive attitude about themselves as educators. The book offers suggestions to teachers on how to apply positive practices to themselves, move from passive to assertive communication, redefine their approach and build new beliefs, increase student…

This newsletter's central item is an essay on teaching as a profession and its condition in the midst of current trends and historical movements. It discusses teacher education, recent reform efforts to incorporate new understandings of teaching and learning in programs for prospective teachers, establishment of professional development schools,…

Surveyed traditional and charter school teachers to determine their perceptions of the teacher's role, the teaching and learning processes, and teacher empowerment. Results indicated that there were some differences, but the two groups had more in common than not. Charter school teachers did not have deeper involvement in curricular decision…

Any strategic plan to address the predicted shortage of teachers will have to include the promotion of the teaching profession as an attractive career. This will, however, depend largely on how successfully the campaign takes into account the favourable and less favourable opinions and perceptions of learners about the education system as a whole…

Tutors working for The Open University of Israel (OUI), a distance learning institution, are often the only academic staff who have direct contact with students. Their performance is therefore crucial for the university. The nature of their job, however, might hinder optimal performance: they are temporary and part time employees, and thus have…

This book examines the personal, moral, cultural, and political dimensions of teaching in the context of rapid and far-reaching change within teachers' work and in the world beyond it. The chapters in Part One examine the powerful forces for change in society and how those forces are exerting pressure on existing institutions. Issues such as the…

This brief introduction to the career of early childhood special educator first describes the nature of the special educator's work with infants and preschool children, and then discusses the educator's role in involving families to develop and implement an individualized plan and work as part of a team of professionals and family members. The…