This article presents ethnographic data to elaborate the nature of teacher resistance and accommodation to the structural context of schooling, and it illustrates the dynamics of group solidarity among a group of eighth-grade middle school teachers. The analysis is predicated on concepts identified by Paul Willis in his study "Learning to…

In considering the problem of raising the professional stature of the teaching profession, a review is presented of current statistics on: (1) shortages of mathematics and science teachers; (2) declining enrollment in teacher education programs; (3) widening gap in supply and demand for teachers; (4) current and future shortages of teachers; (5)…

According to this paper, the future will offer human beings the choice of becoming bees or architects. Although the bee-like way of treating teachers and students in schools came from American industry, the chances for shifting toward the architect/creative side may now be better in industry than in the schools. The practice of treating children's…

Data collected on teacher, classroom, and school characteristics from 38 schools participating in "A Study of Schooling" were analyzed to determine some of the cultural variables that separate schools that are more renewing from those which are less renewing. The following constructs emerged: (1) authority and decision making structures; (2)…

A report is given of a series of qualitative studies conducted to clarify the market patterns of career choice and expectation, recruitment and selection, turnover and mobility, and working conditions and career alternatives of public school teachers. A study of the career expectations of noneducation college students was also made. These studies…

A working symposium, consisting of 100 persons from many different professions and perspectives, brainstormed for three days about ways in which to make teaching more of a profession. This report presents the symposium participants' vision and action plan for the K-12 teaching profession in California. Reasons why change is needed in the teaching…

Environmental differences for speech departments at large and small colleges are not simply of scale; there are qualitative as well as quantitative differences. At small colleges, faculty are hired as teachers, rather than as researchers. Because speech teachers at small colleges must be generalists, and because it is often difficult to replace…

This newsletter issue considers in separate articles: (1) unionization in 1981 among college faculty in the United States; (2) unionization at the California State University and College System (CSU) (by Lisa Flanzraich); (3) multi-year agreements; (4) contract size; (5) and, in "Yeshivawatch," developments pertaining to the National…

The opinions of the faculty at the College of the Sequoias, California, regarding their office facilities and scheduled office hours were surveyed. Ninety-nine faculty members completed a 10-item questionnaire, which is enclosed. It was found that the maintenance of faculty office hours and being available for students was viewed as an important…

DURING A 9-MONTH PERIOD, 20 COLLEGES OF VARIED SIZE, ORGANIZATIONAL BASES AND LOCATIONS WERE VISITED AND THE ATTITUDES AND PERCEPTIONS OF 650-700 INSTRUCTORS WERE OBTAINED THROUGH INFORMAL INTERVIEWS. A PATTERN OF GENERAL RESPONSES DEVELOPING FROM THESE OBSERVATIONS RELATES TO FACULTY SELF-IMAGE, ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS, AND JOB SATISFACTION. MORE…

This paper relates the conflicting impressions an English teacher who teaches extension courses at a maximum security prison has experienced while teaching literature and composition in such an environment. Anecdotes about individual prisoners and their circumstances reveal both the similarities and the extremely harsh differences between their…

The unionization of teachers has had consequences beyond traditional trade union objectives and now encompasses educational and sociopolitical goals. The American Federation of Teachers and the United Federation of Teachers of New York have used their organized power to influence school administration policies, to better the educational…

The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to evaluate the Self Enhancing Education (SEE) Project, and (2) to formulate and evaluate group learning activities for behaviorally handicapped students. SEE, developed in the schools of Cupertino, California, and implemented under a Title III grant, provided training in communication processes…

This study posed the following questions: (1) Do English teachers have theories of language? (2) If so, what is the nature and strength of those theories? (3) How are the factors of education, experience, professional affiliation and teaching situation related to the presence of such theories? (4) What implications do the answers to these…

This document presents the master agreement between Jackson Community College Board of Trustees and Jackson Community Faculty Association for the period from September 1, 1973 through August 31, 1975. The articles of the agreement include the following: rights of the board, rights and responsibilities of the instructors and the association,…