Reviews research on characteristics of quality teachers, methods for improving teacher quality, and student and teacher behaviors that are indicators of teacher quality. Draws implications for principal hiring and mentoring practices. (Contains 30 references.) (PKP)

A survey instrument was developed to evaluate the practical knowledge about classroom practice of prospective and current deaf educators (beginning education students, graduating education students, novice teachers, and experienced teachers). Results were analyzed to show categories and characteristics of practical knowledge storage of prospective…

Postmodernism has been welcomed in some quarters of educational research and practice and seen as offering scope for challenging accepted structures and practices, highlighting some of the ambivalence and uncertainty and challenging orthodoxy, but to what effect? Research on inclusion increasingly mirrors the "inward turn" (Page, 2000) of…

In this article we present results from a project to develop survey measures of the content knowledge teachers need to teach elementary reading. In areas such as mathematics and science, there has been great interest in the specialized ways teachers need to know a subject to teach it to others -- often referred to as pedagogical content knowledge.…

This article employs the concepts of "professional jurisdiction" and "formal knowledge" to examine threats to teacher professionalism in England arising from the British government's "workload remodelling" policy to expand the numbers and remit of staff in schools without qualified teacher status. The connection…

Good teaching is ultimately deeply and thoroughly grounded in knowledge. The days of the "if you can't do anything else, then teach" mentality are long gone, ushered out due to major changes in knowledge about effective teaching. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education…

To meet the challenge to reform mathematics education, effective opportunities to learn are needed to promote prospective elementary school teachers' development of the knowledge base that supports teaching, for mathematical proficiency. This article describes three professional development interventions and their influence on prospective…

The authors work with 22 educators from a variety of disciplines during a 3-year time span to understand what authentic teaching means and to explore how authenticity is manifested in practice. Using a grounded theory approach, the authors interview participants twice per year, observe their classes, and hold focus groups at the end of the…

Lesson and unit plans designed by preservice teachers who developed their plans using the backward design model or a traditional model of curriculum design were compared. Two independent raters scored 153 lesson and unit plans developed by preservice teachers in two different sections of Educational Planning and Management. The plans were…

Kruse and Roehrig present a study designed to assess teacher's misconceptions as related to their background and refer to research showing that teaching science, as inquiry requires a "highly structured and deep conceptual knowledge base". Some of the methods that require strong conceptual knowledge include guided-inquiry laboratories, cooperative…

The California Foreign Language Project (CFLP), established in 1988, is a voluntary professional development program designed to improve and expand elementary, secondary, and postsecondary foreign language teaching in California. CFLP consists of nine regional sites that work in conjunction with a central office to increase professional…

English language learners (ELLs) are the fastest growing group of K-12 students in the United States. Most ELLs spend the entire school day in mainstream classrooms where instruction is in English. It is therefore important for all teachers to have the knowledge and skills needed to facilitate these students' academic language development and…

The primary objective of this research was to establish a link between preservice, secondary chemistry teachers' knowledge base and beliefs about teaching. The case study followed two preservice chemistry teachers through their methods course, practicum experience, and student teaching internship. Pedagogical content knowledge vignettes, following…

Practitioner research is a topic of growing interest and scholarly writing in the field of education in general and adult education in particular. This article describes a particular form of practitioner research that rests on a participatory worldview and draws heavily from theory and practice in adult learning and action research.…

Adult educators employed in steel mill career development programs offer the field a unique glimpse into the relationship between context and career trajectories. This article explores the lives of these adult educators against the backdrop of contemporary theories of career development, situated learning, and continuing professional development…