In our current climate of standards-based reform, efforts abound to have all students reach the same goals. At the same time, other educational reforms, such as inclusion, are creating increasingly diverse populations of students in general education classrooms. Consequently, teachers often view inclusion and standards-based reform as incompatible…

The purpose of this study was to analyze how the challenges of urban schools influence physical education teachers' emotional understanding and connections with their students and the implications on their teaching. Sixty-one elementary physical educators from an urban school district in the midwestern U.S. were interviewed multiple times (N =…

Teachers' attitudes toward the use of technology vary greatly. Studies show that many teachers have negative attitudes toward the use of technology and that gender differences exist, with females using technology less than their male counterparts. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a technology-focused professional development…

At present, there is a lack of information about how teacher-friendly or sustainable opportunity to learn (OTL) assessment strategies are when used in classrooms. This paper describes the results of a national survey of classroom teachers who teach in large urban school districts, districts that are members of the Council of Great City Schools.…

This special issue is the final issue of "Cityschools," a magazine that reports on research regarding the transformation of urban schools and makes this research more accessible to practitioners in urban classrooms. The research is described through the stories of real educators who are finding solutions to educational problems. The…

In order to determine the impact of individualized instruction on academic achievements of low performing inner-city youth, thirty seventh grade pupils were given individualized instruction in an open classroom atmosphere--their first such experience; results are stated to indicate a dramatic increase in problem-solving performances. (Author/JM)

This document reports on the qualities of a good urban teacher as perceived by urban early childhood and elementary school teachers in 1988. A review of the educational literature indicates that the characteristics of good teaching reflected the time period in which the teachers lived and were prepared. This study focused on preschool, substitute,…

A study was conducted in the City College of Chicago and replicated in three other urban community college districts to investigate the instructional methods of a sample of exceptional community college teachers and to look for alterable teaching behaviors and techniques that could be presented to other teachers who wanted to improve their…

The conception of an occupational education delivery system for an institution located in an urban community was realized at Chicago State University through changes in administrative structure and curriculum, an interdisciplinary faculty approach, a contemporary cooperative work experience program, and a cooperative urban teacher education…

This essay offers several propositions related to the problems of urban areas and notes the implications of these problems for urban universities and their colleges of education. The quality of life in urban America is deteriorating as is the quality of service being provided by urban schools and social service agencies. A large portion of the…

An exploratory study was conducted to identify the characteristics and behaviors related to effective instruction in an urban community college. The 30 instructors selected for the study taught introductory courses in biology, English, mathematics, or social sciences at the City Colleges of Chicago. All had exceptionally high levels of student…

Some of the factors that have been considered in relation to the teaching of mathematics, especially to students in urban schools, are examined in this paper. First, information on the mathematics achievement levels of students with different demographic characteristics is presented; the extreme variance in achievement between students from high…

THE EXPERIENTIALLY POOR CHILD WHO HAS HEARD LITTLE ADULT CONVERSATION DIRECTED AT AND FOR HIM IS ILL-PREPARED FOR BEGINNING READING. HIS LEARNING ACTIVITIES SHOULD BE PLANNED TO INCLUDE EXPERIENCE, REAL AND/OR VICARIOUS. BEFORE HE IS INVOLVED WITH THE SYMBOLIC REPRESENTATION OF THE SPOKEN OR WRITTEN WORD. THE CHILD SHOULD HAVE DEVELOPED STRONG…

THE SCHOOLS SERVING DEPRESSED AREAS ARE FINDING IT INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT TO RETAIN TEACHERS AND TO ATTRACT ADDITIONAL TRAINED TEACHERS TO FILL INCREASING NUMBERS OF VACANCIES. SOCIOECONOMIC, ETHNIC, CULTURAL, AND EDUCATIONAL FACTORS WHICH CONTRIBUTE TO DISADVANTAGEMENT ARE COMPOUNDED WHEN MET WITH THE OBJECTIVE SCREENING MEASURES FOR COLLEGE…

Four main considerations are basic to developing a program to prepare urban teachers: the degree to which the program is individualized, the nature of the personal models exerting influence on prospective teachers, the degree of freedom offered prospective teachers in their professional laboratory experiences, and the nature of the help received…