Educational research over the past 15 years shows that schools and school districts have, on a large scale, failed to translate reform goals into improved teacher practice and student learning. Although classroom teachers are central to successful school reform, research has rarely examined how teachers experience reform initiatives and how that…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the influences on special education teachers' decisions about literacy for their students with severe disabilities. Using multiple case study and grounded theory methodologies, four middle and high school special education teachers were purposefully selected to participate in interviews and…

There is a perceived shortage of male teachers in education, particularly at the primary/junior (P/J) level where male teachers in Canada account for a dwindling minority. Included among the many factors inhibiting males from becoming P/J teachers are perceptions that males might be unduly vulnerable to false accusations of inappropriate conduct…

Purpose: This study makes a distinction between a school having high attrition and one having difficulties in hiring. It does so by exploring the relationship between definitions of hard-to-staff schools, school demographics, and school conditions that are often associated with a school being hard-to-staff. Research Design: The study relies on a…

This article explores the experiences of teaching assistants from nonmainstream backgrounds in a predominantly white institution (PWI) of U.S. education. We focus on how such teaching assistants experience and respond to "microaggressions" or subtle challenges to their teaching based on race and ethnicity. We also explore the consequences of…

Using principles derived from critical pedagogy theory and constructs from motivation theory such as meta-cognition and self-regulation, the authors elicit teacher candidates' voices so as to deepen an understanding of the major factors that shape their identity in becoming teachers, especially in light of today's multicultural societies. They…

A project funded through the National Vocational Education and Training Research and Evaluation program investigated higher education programs--mostly bachelor's and associate degrees--offered by technical and further education (TAFE) institutes. This overview highlights some of the implications for public policy identified through this project.…

Compared with other professions, teachers in P-12 schools seem to experience the highest level of emotional exhaustion. The purpose of this study was to examine teacher emotions within the context of teachers' appraisals and the ways they regulate and cope with their emotions. This was done by exploring novice teachers' appraisals of classroom…

Preservice teachers have indicated that they are somewhat less comfortable working with students with disabilities. Research shows that curricular modifications in teacher education programs would enable preservice teachers to be more prepared for classrooms that include students with disabilities. Much of the work in teacher education dealing…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the possible impact portable classrooms have on the teaching and learning process by exploring current related literature. Design/methodology/approach: This paper takes a synthesis approach, analyzing current studies to assess the impact of portable classrooms on teaching and learning. Findings: No…

Purpose: This research was designed to investigate the possible relationship between the attitudes, teachers have about the condition of their classrooms when the classrooms were independently assessed. Previous research reported teachers in unsatisfactory classrooms felt frustrated and neglected to such an extent that they sometimes reported they…

Successfully inducting new teachers creates professional alliances to sustain learning organizational cultures. This research involved 30 beginning teachers from a large school board in southern Ontario. The theoretical frame of the study consists of a mixed qualitative data analysis methodology of grounded theory and discourse analysis. The…

The No Child Left Behind legislation, by legitimizing a stark, one-size-fits-all, industrial model of education, has denied the inherent complexity and richness of what teachers do. Discussing teaching in terms of Chaos Theory, Chapin explains that while excellent teaching may occur at the edge of chaos, it is not chaotic. There are patterns…

On April 30, 2008, at the White House Rose Garden, President Bush announced that Michael Geisen, a middle school 7th-grade science teacher from Prineville, Oregon, would be the recipient of the 2008 National Teacher of the Year honor. The National Teacher of the Year is selected by a National Selection Committee, which consists of 15 major…

Many professors have been traumatized by academic bullies. Unlike bullies at school, the academic bully plays a more subtle game. Bullies may spread rumors to undermine a colleague's credibility or shut their target out of social conversations. The more aggressive of the species cuss out co-workers, even threatening to get physical. There is…