This article presents results from a research project exploring the relational interplay between school staff and students, its functions and complexity in the secondary school context. School relationships (between students and different kinds of staff) are more or less indirectly related to educational content: subject matter as well as norms…

In this case study, two high school teachers, a university researcher, and 10 high school students (ages 16-19 years) were part of an action research group that addressed an issue--smoking on school grounds--identified by a high school population as being problematic. The research was guided by the following research questions: "Within a…

The experiences of students in an online learning community were explored in this qualitative case study using social presence theory as an interpretive lens. Participants included five undergraduate students in a certificate program at a large Midwestern university. Students who felt a sense of community online most highly valued the friendship…

Few studies have explored the work of successful beginning teachers in diverse settings. This investigation follows one promising young, white elementary teacher through her student teaching in the inner city of Washington, D.C. and into her first year of teaching in a suburban, diverse Virginia school. Seven themes articulate her journey into…