Describes how members of a training team worked together to obtain funding to make a presentation at the 1997 National Association for the Education of Young Children Professional Development Conference. Details five qualities identified as instrumental in the group's progress: (1) passion; (2) dedication to the mission; (3) self-reflection and…

The National Writing Project's professional development approach reflects a shift from the tradition of theory dictating practice, maintaining that engaging teachers in teaching teachers empowers them to meet the challenges of increasing student diversity. By providing support in risk-free settings, teachers can collaborate as educational leaders,…

Examines empowerment as a communicative process among teachers and students at a Midwestern Montessori school. Explores the praxis of empowerment in the organizational context of three Montessori classrooms. Observes the praxis of empowerment in three specific areas: the nature of the environment; the management of discipline; and the social…

The relationship between reading and empowerment, though often taken for granted, is complex. The paper describes a pilot research project, which sought to explore how teachers might change their practice in such a way as to empower the children in their care, rather than enculture them into the rather more passive and compliant practices of…

Between 1994 and 2002, Guinea implemented an ambitious program designed to enable teams of primary school teachers to become full partners in the mobilization of the educational system by initiating and carrying out their own professional development and school improvement projects. Known by its French acronym PPSE, this program was not originally…

This paper describes a nurture group pilot project that took place in three schools in Hampshire. Results suggested that children in the nurture groups made significant social and emotional gains after attending a group. These gains were recognised by the children themselves and their parents. They were also generalised into the classroom.…

This article examines contemporary research and debates about pedagogies of engagement that challenge the traditional assumptions and understandings of engagement. Three contesting epistemological constructions of student engagement are identified and examined through the contesting and resisting voices of teachers and students. The article's…

A teacher's professional integrity faces numerous challenges in the classroom. To help educators safeguard against potentially career-ending incidents, numerous "survival rules" are provided in this text. It argues that teachers must safeguard themselves with self-protecting knowledge and, in some instances, must reprogram themselves…

Writing centers and their faculty are often considered to be "Others" because they have both power and no power--they have the ability to make a difference in students' writing abilities, but they are often excluded because they are seen as a "fixit," a clinic, a lab, an ancillary. Writing center faculty need to take more power so that they can…

Describes an autobiographical study of a deputy headteacher's leadership role in organizing a teacher's group of action researchers in a comprehensive secondary school. The study aimed to provide the conditions and support necessary for empowering teachers to develop their classroom or management practice. "Story" aided self-reflection…

Explores the assumption that teachers want to participate in schoolwide decision making by constructing a typology of teachers. Characterizes four types of teachers: empowered, disenfranchised, involved (those that do not want to participate, but do), and disengaged. Analysis of teachers' differences and similarities on demographic and attitudinal…

Empowered technology teams can help realize the financial investment of schools in technology. Teams foster communities of technology users and give teachers and staff opportunities for leadership. A transformational leadership style is essential to the building of a human infrastructure that will use the technological infrastructure. (KS)

Now a major force Board for Professional Teaching Standards was established in 1987 to set high, rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and practice and to certify teachers via performance-based assessments. National Board Certification, which complements state licensing, helps empower teachers through mentoring and school…

Explores contradictions and tensions in action research on the technical aspects of good teaching and democratic possibilities of empowering teachers and learners. A case study of an action research course for practicing teachers highlights dilemmas in teaching action research as a university course. Most participating teachers felt empowered by…

Discusses the hierarchical chain of command in schools. Describes a three-year program to help urban schoolteachers bring about school improvement. Notes that state-mandated tests can result in increasing powerlessness among teachers. Argues that unless the present hierarchies are flattened, the best and brightest will be discouraged from entering…