Exploration of the social and economic context of further education in England shows increased collegiality and a culture of continuous improvement have transformed teaching and learning. These changes take place within a modernizing strategy focused on value-added education and economic competitiveness. (SK)

Studied out-of-field teaching in United States high schools using data from the Schools and Staffing Survey of the National Center for Education Statistics. Reveals that out-of-field teaching is widespread and offers an explanation that focuses on the organizational structure of schools and the occupational conditions and characteristics of…

A former National Teacher of the Year discusses leadership's joys and difficulties. Teacher leaders must speak up about conditions limiting their effectiveness and policies restraining their positive momentum. This means engaging in continuous professional development and comporting themselves as professional educators who know what is best for…

Focuses on images of teachers (particularly English teachers) in films. Argues that understanding how society views teachers through the prism of cultural imagination can productively challenge the profession to create its own pedagogical images. Suggests that, although these films depict the teacher's sexuality to define its proper limits, the…

Teacher absenteeism is an ongoing problem. This paper examines findings from research centered on who is absent from teaching and when, causes for teacher absences, absenteeism and student achievement, the relationship between school climate and employee absences, and the impact of various incentives on teacher absenteeism. Recommendations for…

Renewed teachers are an integral part of their schools and have a philosophical/spiritual center; a commitment to students, lifelong learning, and school; a sense of collegiality, leadership, and personal responsibility; a strong love for life; and the ability to appreciate people as individuals, communicate, and banish their egos. (MLH)

Based on qualitative research (interviews with 39 elementary teachers and case studies of two schools), demonstrates that two important concepts can clarify school leaders' crucial role in teachers' professional development. If principals create workplace conditions that offer learning space and opportunities, learning experiences will happen.…

Discusses the increasing movement toward organization of part-time college faculty, graduate students, and full-time faculty members who are off the tenure track, describing activities of the Coalition of Contingent Academic Labor and the California Part-Time Faulty Association. Notes that despite active organization on both coasts, the movement…

Explores change in three mathematics environments by presenting three episodes of an activity in which students study patterns of change through tables and graphs and are asked to make a trip in three different environments that include Cuisenaire rods and meter sticks, tables of numbers on paper, and Trips software. (ASK)

In this study, perceptions of learning disabilities were obtained from 128 principals and 123 teachers in the Nara Prefecture, Japan. A factor analysis indicated that five factors underlie perceptions of learning disabilities: changes in the family and social situation, insufficient knowledge of and support for learning disabilities, teachers'…

This paper draws on research in three English Midlands local education authorities to analyse the changing role of the teacher trade union representative in schools. It focuses on representatives of the largest teachers' union in England and Wales--the National Union of Teachers. The paper draws on mainstream industrial relations literature, and…

The article presents some findings from the York-Jyvaskyla Teacher Professionalism project. The project was a follow-up study to earlier case-study research in six schools in Finland and six schools in England on the impact of educational reforms on teachers' work. Data were collected by re-interviewing a sample of teachers from the original…

It is difficult to retain teachers who work in isolated communities, in very poor communities and communities where parental levels of education are not high. This paper describes the creation of a "New Teacher Academy" in one such unstable school district. Working closely with the new teachers in the district, a program was created based on peer…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between teacher autonomy and on-the-job stress, work satisfaction, empowerment, and professionalism. Using a reliable and valid measure of curriculum autonomy and general teaching autonomy (TAS), it was found that as curriculum autonomy increased on-the-job stress decreased, but there was…

Using a "historical case study" of Edwin M. Hopkins, this article explores what Bruce Horner calls the "material social conditions" of teaching writing early in the twentieth century. It shows how Hopkins's own attitude and response to the demands of being a writing teacher serve as a backdrop for understanding his local and national crusade to…