This paper is the culmination of a three-year study that sought to frame an initial answer to the question, "What are the circumstances and conditions under which National Board Certified teachers (NBCTs) can have a positive impact on low-performing schools?" The study, funded by Atlantic Philanthropies, was part of the National Board's more…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present findings derived from research work carried out by a team of six university lecturers who are members of a teaching quality improvement network. The aim is to increase the motivation of the lecturers involved, so that better performance can be achieved, and the teaching-learning process enriched.…

This paper uses the SACMEQ II data to carry out an analysis of classroom context factors that accounted for student scores in reading and mathematics as well as a review of methods used to derive policies in Kenya in order to emphasise the need for evidence-based research for the derivation of policies for the leadership and management of primary…

Teacher education in China has entered an important period of transformation which requires institutional innovation and systematic construction. Teacher education institutions should be gradually reshaped to meet the needs of elementary and secondary schools that are run on an autonomous basis. A system of teaching qualification certification and…

This paper will explore emerging benefits of telecollaboration and telementoring through an examination of the literature, a reflection on current practices at the University of Virginia and the University of South Florida, and a forecast proposal for potential seamless integration of technology with teacher preparation and training in schools of…

The purpose of this article is to provide a new perspective on the intricacies of the work life in schools that motivate and satisfy teachers. The authors review the literature related to the improvement of school environments and the concept of "flow" as defined by Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi (1990). He describes flow as a "state in which people are…

Can sharing drawings about pedagogical issues develop trust in a mentoring situation? What other themes and feelings emerge when non-traditional forms of mentoring are utilized? During a seven-week student-teaching period, a student art teacher and experienced art teacher drew and wrote in a sketchbook about daily teaching experiences. These…

This paper reports on the second phase of the Froebel Research Fellowship project "Ownership and Autonomy in Early Childhood" (2003-5). Based on the first phase of the project (Robson and Hargreaves, 2005), a questionnaire survey of 80 professionals working in the Foundation Stage (age 3-5) in England was conducted to obtain an overview…

Recent policy developments are changing the work of local education authorities (LEAs) in Wales requiring them to play a broader role in the community and a significant role in raising educational achievement. LEAs are obligated to set out their improvement targets in institutional plans and are called to account by external inspection, which…

IDEA and NCLB support the case for including English language learners with disabilities in standards-based reform and school accountability efforts. Few states make statewide data on the participation and performance of English language learners with disabilities publicly available. Therefore, district assessment data on English language learners…

Elementary school children in three grade groups (Grades K/1, 3, and 5/6) completed either the auditory or the visual 1/9 vigilance task from the Gordon Diagnostic System (GDS) as well as subtests from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Third Edition and auditory or visual processing subtests from the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive…

South African Academic Development (AD) emerged as a liberatory educational and social movement in the 1980s. AD (often called educational development) has burgeoned as an international phenomenon, but with a focus on quality rather than on liberation. South African AD now seems to be struggling to construct its post-apartheid identity, if one…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of one year of regular "LEGO" training on pupils' performances in schools. The underlying pedagogical perspective is the constructivist theory, where the main idea is that knowledge is constructed in the mind of the pupil by active learning. The investigation has been made in two…

Active student engagement with course materials, such as note-taking and cooperative learning, is associated with greater performance. This study investigated the relationship between scores achieved by students in an undergraduate course and active engagement during testing, whether using a cheat sheet or engaging in a form of cooperative…

At the heart of many current debates about curriculum and curriculum policy is an inadequately conceptualized and articulated notion of teachers' professional discretion. This paper begins to detail a normative and descriptive theory of the social and individual conditions required for the development of professional discretion. A better…