Surveyed undergraduate students in the United Kingdom regarding factors influencing their decisions to choose or not choose teaching as a career. Compared to other students, students who were seriously considering teaching careers had a much closer match of factors that were important to them in their career choice with factors that they thought…

Describes the experiences of a group of temporary faculty members at Northern Illinois University who worked to create a union, highlighting their issues related to pay and equity and looking at the response of university administrators to temporary faculty demands. (SM)

Addresses the issues involved when assessing the effectiveness of Russian teachers' efforts and the quality of education. Describes the teacher-qualification examinations that are intended to improve and ensure teacher effectiveness. Conveys the need of high standards for teachers, but realizes that most teachers unfortunately do not achieve the…

In Walla Walla (Washington), an award-winning teacher mentoring program has boosted the new-teacher retention rate to 93 percent. With state funding, the program assigns each new teacher a "peer coach" and a "peer mentor," then provides training and support for all concerned. The program has become a good recruitment and…

Examines teachers' ratings of effective principal leadership in magnet and nonmagnet schools. Teachers in nonmagnet schools rated principals more effective than did teacher in magnet schools. Principals' efforts to deal with lower student SES, permeable school boundaries, and larger school size may account for their lower rating of leadership…

A number of studies have found that teachers are prone to leave schools serving high proportions of low-achieving, low-income, and minority students for more economically and educationally advantaged schools. In schools with very high turnover rates, this can pose a number of challenges, including lack of continuity in instruction, lack of…

The old adage that "they won't care until they know we care" is pretty accurate in education. This is true of the staff as well as the students, their parents and the community. The highest-achieving classrooms are ones where the students trust, respect and care about their teacher because that teacher trusts, respects, cares about and expects…

This special edition enables an in-depth look at the process of modernization of education in England, in relation to other international developments. In particular we focus on the reform of teachers? work by examining the antecedence of the current policy of remodelling through three articles based on the Evaluation of the Department for…

One of the ironies of teaching is that it is one of the most social occupations, but it is also one of the most isolating professions. Most schools are organized in an eggcrate manner, making professional collaborations difficult. In what other business would a professional not have easy access to a telephone? What other professional lives are…

The percentage of male students who complete an undergraduate degree in the field of special education continues to be much lower than that of female graduates. Low status, low salaries, the perception of teaching as women's work, potential complaints of child abuse and sexual harassment, and a lack of male peer groups factor into this low…

Oplatka demonstrates the process of self-renewal that was experienced by Israeli mid-career teachers subsequent to the arrival of a new woman principal and discusses contextual and biographical determinants of the process. He says that most teachers felt stagnated and even frustrated during the middle of their career cycle. He also stresses that…

The inability to teach anything in high school other than what the curriculum dictates due to lack of time, and the near impossibility of getting to know one's students due to large numbers who are generally indifferent and often ill behaved, are two of the most common refrains sung by teachers of adolescents. A profile of four teachers, who…

In response to the ever-declining status of the teaching profession, and its adverse effects on the country's educational system, the Federal Ministry of Education in Ethiopia introduced a policy of the teachers' career ladder in 1994. While reformers believe that the introduction of the policy has improved the condition of the teaching…

Middle and high school math and science teachers provide the foundation for education in the growing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. They are crucial to California's efforts to remain competitive in a global economy. This policy brief looks at the shortage and challenges involved in recruiting and retaining fully prepared…

This article describes the design, development, and successful implementation of a hybrid distance education course on adulthood and aging. The focus is on the pedagogical and technological transitions made in converting a traditional course into an interactive television course (iTV). The course was taught a total of three times, first as a…