This study was conducted to examine the link between occupational conditions and depressive symptoms in newly appointed teachers. Emphasis was placed on the variability among schools to which teachers were assigned. Subjects were recruited during the spring semesters of 1987-89 as final senior year seminars were being completed at teacher-training…

Presented are the results of a questionnaire completed by 467 teachers from 32 states who teach English at the elementary school, secondary school, and college or university level. The questionnaire elicited information concerning teacher morale, critical issues facing the profession, the mood of teachers, and teacher curriculum interests and…

This ERIC digest presents an overview of small-scale schooling in an international context; examines demographic data, staffing problems, and incentives used in other nations; and points out the distinctive characteristics and unique value and potential of small schools in both industrialized and developing nations. Rural school populations remain…

This survey of 2,000 K-12 public school teachers affords a retrospective on the years of major education reforms and, by examining trend data from earlier surveys, measures the impact of this period in education. Teachers' priorities for the near-term future are also examined. The report presents some possible directions schools might take during…

Beginning teacher education students in two colleges and three universities were asked to describe their knowledge and perceptions of teaching and schools in the following areas: (1) the quality of K-12 schools; (2) characteristics of good and poor schools; (3) levels of school funding; (4) the quality of K-12 teachers; (5) characteristics of K-12…

This report looks at the classroom lives of teachers, examining ways in which teachers influence and are influenced by others and impediments to their effectiveness in decision making, lesson planning, and other instructional responsibilities. Conditions and characteristics particular to public school teachers in New York City are considered. Six…

A nine-member Future of Teaching Committee, appointed by the State Board of Education in October of 1985, suggests a sweeping set of recommendations to provide 20,000 new teacher replacements in Michigan's public school classrooms in the next several years. An overview is presented of the Committee's recommendations to the Governor, the…

A multiple-method study of junior high school teachers' beliefs and classroom behavior focused on teachers' perceptions of teaching tasks and processes, on how their beliefs and behavior are shaped, and on constraints by outside influences. These influences, which make up the context of teaching, include organizational and community influences on…

An explorative, qualitative study regarding the concerns of nine beginning primary school teachers in Belgium used a combination of two techniques--a log-book and interviews--to explore the types of concerns held by these teachers. Teachers' expressions of what concerned them were reformulated into prototype-sentences, built up from…

This report details a series of specific recommendations aimed at improving the conditions of learning and teaching, teacher preparation and licensure, recruitment and minority recruitment, and accountability in New York State. The necessity of restructuring schools in the state is first discussed. Recommendations are then made in the following…

This paper reviews the literature on effective schools from the rural teacher's viewpoint. While research on rural education has frequently focused on economic and structural issues, the teacher is the key to the quality of rural education. However, rural teachers encounter more stressful teaching conditions than urban or suburban teachers,…

Views concerning teaching and teacher education and the pursuit of excellence in education are expressed in a 1982 public hearing. Attention is directed to the following concerns: the nature of effective teaching, the preparation of an effective teacher, keeping the teacher effective, the responsibility for providing and sustaining excellence in…

This paper discusses some of the issues behind the current debate on merit pay for teachers. A brief history is presented of performance-based compensation systems. The difficulties in arriving at a consensus on a valid definition of merit pay are pointed out, and examples are presented of various merit plans, such as master teaching plans, career…

Factors related to teacher stress and the relationship between teacher stress and student achievement were investigated using a qualitative research approach. Regular education teachers (n=35) and special education teachers (n=28) of mildly handicapped elementary students were interviewed about their perceptions of general stress in teaching,…

The support of teaching in the liberal arts is examined using data from a random sample of chief liberal arts academic officers of American colleges and universities. Information is presented on 15 categories of faculty support for teaching and research, basic teaching conditions, tenure decisions, and merit salary increases. Differences in…