Neoliberal forces since the latter part of the 20th century have ushered in greater devolution in state schooling systems, producing uneven effects on the working conditions of teachers, commonly the largest segment of the public sector workforce. Within this context, this paper examines secondary teachers' working conditions as they relate to the…

Despite recruitment efforts, teachers of Color are underrepresented and leaving the teaching force at faster rates than their White counterparts. Using Critical Race Theory to analyze and present representative qualitative narratives from 218 racial justice-oriented, urban teachers of color, this article affirms that urban schools--despite serving…

The article focuses on the workplace as a learning environment in work-based early childhood teacher education in Norway. The main question is: Which understandings of the workplace as a learning environment are to be found in regulations and policy documents, among students and among staff managers? Taking as the point of departure, a theoretical…

In spite of research suggesting the importance of diverse professionals in education (Mattison & Aber, 2007), no studies have explored the professional experiences of school counselors of Color. In this exploratory grounded-theory qualitative study, researchers interviewed 19 school counselors of Color. Responses revealed both positive and…

The development of healthy relationships among the students, faculty, and staff at higher education institutions leads to the creation of a seamless, connected learning environment for the students (Blimling & Whitt, 1999; Kezar, Hirsch, & Burack, 2001; Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh, Whitt, & Associates, 2005; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005).…

This paper investigates the experiences of secondary teachers within their workplace as they take on the role of leading subject knowledge development days for small groups of student-teachers through a case-study approach. Semi-structured interviews, the reflective journals of these teachers and the evaluations of the days by the student-teachers…

In today's era of high stakes testing and accountability, school principals are confronted with many difficult challenges in addition to those traditionally experienced by principals given the advent of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the many mandates each school principal must report on annually. With mandated curriculum standards and widespread…

This article explores and illuminates the meaning of nurses' experiences with their work as a learning environment. A qualitative hermeneutic approach guided the research process and the analysis and interpretation of the transcribed interview-texts of eleven graduate nurses. Three core themes emerged from these informants' descriptions of their…

This qualitative, longitudinal study examines the perspectives on professional development of a group of exemplary, new secondary teachers of English Language Arts and Spanish (n = 4). This study explores the teachers' development through the lens of the "embodied understanding of practice" (EUP), a novel theoretical framework of…

This study explores the perceptions that Israeli reference librarians have of their jobs and their academic environment. Fifteen academic reference librarians were interviewed over a period of four months and their answers were analyzed using the thematic analysis approach. The analysis resulted in five major themes: 1) elements in reference work…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to first elaborate on the notion of a learning environment based on an empirical study of care work. Second, to explore how aspects of a learning environment may differ between and within units in the same organization, and how to understand and explain such differences. Design/methodology/approach: The study…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report on pedagogical research into the student experience of an approach to enterprise education integrated into the curriculum in a large metropolitan university. The paper aims to explore the implications which the research findings have for pedagogy for enhancing student employability and to discuss the…

The aim of this article is to discuss guidelines for support staff experiencing aggression in schools and to develop an approach for the support staff to deal with aggression to facilitate their mental health. The researchers explored the experience of aggression of the support staff in a chosen school by conducting phenomenological, unstructured…

Teachers are a critical mass of professionals whose growth within the teaching profession is of great consequence to the effective imparting of knowledge and skills to students. While previous studies maintain that superior subject matter mastery, the ability to relate well to students, and innovative teaching strategies are qualities inherent in…

This case study presents findings from a year-long ethnographic study of a principal of an elementary school in a stable, urban environment. It concludes one of seven studies conducted in elementary and intermediate schools in urban, suburban, and rural settings to investigate the instructional management role of principals. Although previous…