This study examines the mediating effect of teacher empowerment on the relationship between teachers' participation in decision making and their professional commitment. The data were collected through quantitative questionnaires from a sample of 983 teachers in 25 junior high schools and 27 high schools in Israel. Hierarchical regression analyses…

While the term "academic immunity" is not one usually used, in practice academics in higher education institutions (HEIs) have been immune from legal challenges to their key professional activities. The historical position in the UK has seen both university visitors and the courts consistently refusing to interfere with decisions…

This article studies the dilemma between professionalization and professionalism in the development of teaching into a bureaucratic organization in Hong Kong. Professionalization and bureaucratization are simultaneous processes. Teaching as an occupation has grown from a state of idiosyncrasy to a profession with defined boundaries. However,…

Background/Context: In an era of high stakes accountability, public school districts struggle to improve teaching and learning for all students. As a result, effective professional development approaches for teachers are a high priority. Recently, teachers' learning communities (LCs) have been recommended because successful LCs foster teacher…

Social, cultural, political, and organizational characteristics of urban schools that make them difficult settings for teachers are discussed. It is suggested that, while an emphasis on professional community would be beneficial for all students, it is particularly pressing for urban schools where other resources for school reform are limited.…

Teachers' views on their control of school policy and classroom practices are analyzed on the basis of data from the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) of 1990-91. The SASS, a nationally representative survey of more than 53,000 teachers, reflects teachers' opinions of school conditions. Overall, teachers (61 percent) did not believe that they had…

This paper reports the results of a 4-year longitudinal study of approximately 600 urban mathematics teachers who were surveyed to ascertain their attitudes regarding certain attributes of the profession of mathematics teaching, specifically: the use of the professional organization as a major referent, the belief in service to the public, the…

This report for the National Academy of Engineering's Office of Public Awareness represents the second phase of an examination of public opinion about engineering and technology. This document presents an analysis of six qualitative, focused group discussions or focus groups. Five of these groups were college educated Americans and one was…

This report discusses national trends in achieving excellence in public education. Although graduation rates have improved greatly since the late 1940s and early 1950s, school restructuring is necessary if the basic skills of the nation's youth are to be improved sufficiently to meet the economic challenges of the 1990s. State governors are…

This paper presents a case study of the development of the Professional Analysis Team (PAT) program structured after the Quality Circle program used in industry. Modifications and innovations of the Quality Circle program are examined, and essential characteristics are outlined. The PAT program, designed to enable education professionals to use…

This document was prepared to inform teachers about their academic freedom rights and to assist teachers who are confronted with a potential academic freedom issue. It provides (1) an essay which outlines the issues, (2) a list of significant decisions of the U.S. Courts of Appeals and their implications, (3) steps to follow when academic freedom…

This report recounts the histories of men and women who have been instrumental in establishing the Transvaal United African Teachers' Association (TUATA). It describes and assesses the main contributions of some of these people to black education in the Transvaal from 1904 to the present. The association is described as independent of government…

Conflicts of interest that may arise from faculty consulting (professional services or advice to a client) are considered, with attention to issues such as time for consulting; competition with private practice; conflict of obligations; use of the university name, facilities, and resources; income considerations; and reporting and monitoring of…

Ellen Schrecker is professor of history at Yeshiva University. Recognized as one of the nation's leading experts on McCarthyism, she has published many books and articles on the subject. Here she writes that while it would be difficult to deny that America's colleges and universities are under siege at the moment, it is hard to tell whether they…

Discusses how archives and library administrators' perceptions of each other's operations and administration may lead to conflicts, and how better understanding of the distinctiveness of an archive as opposed to a library may improve relations. (CLB)