If we deconstruct the university--and set aside the trendy rhetoric of a multiversity--are we not actually approaching a "strativersity," a hierarchy of teaching that imposes a hierarchy of learning? In this article, the author discusses the ways in which typical contingent working conditions may undermine student learning conditions. Highlighted…

In this paper, the authors argue that at a time when disappointing student performance, stark achievement gaps, and an ever-"flattening" world call for retooling American schools for the 21st century, the most daunting impediments to doing so are the teacher collective bargaining agreements that regulate virtually all aspects of school district…

A focus group with nine university professionals from two large Midwestern universities was conducted to investigate their perceptions regarding the unexpected impact of increasing numbers of students with learning disabilities attending college. Participants consisted of six faculty members, two directors of Offices of Student Disability…

A study identified the factors that influenced the job satisfaction of nurse educators involved in a change to a collaborative baccalaureate nursing program in the province of Manitoba, Canada. The total population of nurse educators from both hospital-based and university-based institutions (n=42) was surveyed. Data were collected using an…

Exploring the beliefs and ideas that preservice and inservice teachers hold about themselves as teachers, the children they teach, and the setting in which they teach, contributes to a better understanding of how they frame teacher effectiveness and teacher efficacy. Participants in this study included preservice teachers enrolled in teacher…

A deeper understanding of the adult-learning process has produced a substantial consensus about the critical attributes that constitute effective professional-development practices. This volume presents findings of a study that examined the design, implementation, and impact of systemic reform efforts to in-depth case studies of three…

The press for the professionalization of teachers is based on the assertion that a strengthened profession will more effectively meet students' needs and improve the overall quality of education. This volume, the second in a set of three, presents detailed individual case studies from a study that examined the design, implementation, and impact of…

Teachers are often placed in teams and expected to work together without support or instruction. This paper presents findings of a study that identified and described the extent to which individual teachers collaborate and the conditions under which collaboration occurs. The study, which focused on three middle schools with a strong commitment to…

This volume discusses the changing face of Europe and examines dimensions of the teaching profession in different countries. Matters related to recruitment, training, recognition and status, probation, teaching conditions, career advancement, and inservice opportunities are identified and developed. Teachers who contemplate moving from one country…

This report presents findings of a study that compared faculty workloads and the activities of department chairs and temporary faculty both within and between the California State University (CSU) 20 campus system and a comparable set of institutions (n=35) located throughout the United States. Study findings address the following issues:…

The transition of teacher candidates into the teaching profession is often perceived to be particularly traumatic. This study was designed: (1) to ascertain whether or not 61 beginning elementary and secondary classroom teachers who responded on 2 occasions to the same work expectations scale changed job entry expectations between completion of…

A history teacher in a girls independent high school set out to examine her own teaching process in order to revitalize her work and to understand more about how her students learn. She began to keep a journal of her observations of classroom work and, with the help of a colleague, to analyze the observations. In addition, she set aside class time…

The purpose of this paper is to: (1) discuss the requisite financial and organizational components of partner schools or professional development schools; and (2) identify structures and processes which will allow these schools to contribute to the simultaneous reconstruction and renewal of the public schools in which teachers work and the…

This descriptive depiction of teacher education in Japan begins with a profile of Japanese teachers, their characteristics, salary scale, and the kinds of classrooms and schools they work in. A description of the conventional pattern of teacher education in Japan is organized in its sequential order: preservice education, induction, inservice…

An intensive two-phase study of teachers' unions in three small school districts in southern New York State over a 10-year span investigates the changes within the union movement and assesses the impact of unionization on the school systems. The study discloses that teachers' organizations and the collective bargaining process are subject, over…