This study examined the phenomena of the ownership of the classroom by a cooperating teacher and the constraints this imposes on the student teacher. Eight secondary language arts student interns completing a 14-week teaching internship participated in the study. Case studies were developed from data which included weekly unstructured interviews,…

This article reports the results of a study of the retention of principals in Catholic elementary and secondary schools in one Midwestern diocese. Findings revealed that personal needs, career advancement, support from employer, and clearly defined role expectations were key factors in principals' retention decisions. A profile of components of…

The conference papers examine higher education reforms in the countries of Eastern and Central Europe from several research perspectives: political, economic, pedagogical, and sociological. Papers are organized in three sections: Higher Education Policies and Institutional Change; Central European Higher Education in Transition; and Higher…

The traditional concept of evaluating college teaching involves evaluation of each autonomous instructor in each classroom on campus. This paper addresses a competing concept--the need for evaluating the contribution each instructor makes to the maintenance and improvement of all instructional programs in the department--holding that both…

Analysis of data from the Schools and Staffing Survey, 1987-88, reveals that compared to metropolitan schools, nonmetropolitan schools are smaller, have fewer teachers with advanced degrees, and offer fewer advanced or remedial classes. However, smaller rural schools often provide smaller classes, more teacher attention, and a less stressful…

The negotiation and legitimation of academic values are explored through a discussion of a university foreign language department's definition of foreign language requirements, curricular and instructional needs and methods, and staff requirements. The instructional staff's lack of power in defining the program limited their ambition and…

Compares areas and levels of political conflict in racially isolated school districts by surveying six superintendents from racially isolated African-American schools and six superintendents from racially isolated white schools. Similar issues arise at every conflict level with small variations among issues between African-American and white…

Discusses three narratives about the history, status, and future of educational researchers. The prevailing collective self-portrait portraying researchers as social scientists with autonomy is contrasted with views of limited autonomy and the author's narrative of enhanced professionalism through research texts about people in the schools. (SLD)

Assesses the effects of external constraints on teachers and the types of adaptation strategies they utilize. Interviews teachers in western Canada and finds they experience high stress from external constraints. Observes that teachers' coping options did not compromise their teaching but fed feelings of powerlessness in efforts to improve school…

Efforts to desegregate schools since the 1954 "Brown" decision have only partly succeeded. Racial and economic segregation still limits minority and poor children's educational opportunities. A new educational civil rights movement must replace authoritarian, antidemocratic standards and tests with diverse schools, staff, pedagogies,…

This paper is a reflective-reflexive examination of provisions of trustworthiness in critical narrative research. The author presents her understanding of provisions of trustworthiness as a science and as an art, and blurs these boundaries as she acknowledges their tension in practice. She weaves between theory and her experience in two…

In recent years the arts have been introduced into many pre-service and in-service professional development programs for general education teachers. At the same time, pressure for immediate test-score improvement and standardization of curriculum has limited the creativity and autonomy of teachers. This study, the qualitative part of a…

Researchers investigating network-based language teaching (NBLT) seldom relate to computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), an important field in educational research which strongly stresses the value of group learning, adopting Vygotskian and Brunerian sociocultural views. As a result, the concept of collaboration is scarcely considered…

At the heart of many current debates about curriculum and curriculum policy is an inadequately conceptualized and articulated notion of teachers' professional discretion. This paper begins to detail a normative and descriptive theory of the social and individual conditions required for the development of professional discretion. A better…

From a case study looking at continuing professional development (CPD) within a rural primary school cluster, teachers' views of the way their needs were met, what controlled their CPD, and the impact of school and system needs on their CPD experiences were analysed. This confirmed the existence of tensions between these levels of need in relation…