Recent teacher professional development in California tends to focus on increasing teachers' mathematical knowledge. In Australia, pedagogically focused programs are preferred. The two approaches are contrasted by comparing a Californian professional development model based on improving mathematical knowledge in number and algebra with a New South…

This nationwide qualitative study investigated how 25 school leaders, serving in schools with varying resources, perceive the practices they use to support teacher learning. The study discusses how these leaders understand the human resource challenges they face in supporting teacher learning and highlights their creative responses to these…

The purpose of this article is to evaluate the effectiveness of principals who have undergone administrative training compared to those who have not. The article begins with a discussion of the status of principalship in various contexts. It then reviews the potential impact of the new policy on principal training in Turkey and the literature…

The power of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) lies in the rights of students with disabilities to a free, appropriate public education. For individuals exercising their rights under this legislation, the reality is that services are sometimes hampered and limited even with legislated rights. In spite of evidence that in…

Prevailing among college students is the belief that higher education is but a mechanism for achieving material prosperity. This perception has impelled them to focus ever more narrowly on ever more specialized fields in a system that has jettisoned broader concerns about the human condition. Karl D. Stephan calls on schools to carve out a place…

The International E-Mail Directory of Health Educators (http://www.hedir.siu.edu), or HEDIR, is an electronic mailing list specifically developed to facilitate communication among health education professionals worldwide. The study objectives were to characterize the nature of HEDIR messages and assess how well HEDIR is meeting members'…

This study presents three case studies of teacher candidates in a Masters in Teaching (MIT) Program who interned in a well-established middle school Professional Development School (PDS) in Washington State. Each of the three portraits reveals how student teachers can positively influence the learning outcomes of middle school students by bringing…

In English schools, many responsibilities have been delegated downwards to "middle level leaders". National standards for subject leadership assume that middle leadership skills are generic and the literature largely agrees with this view. This article presents data from the first pilot enquiry within ARTSLAMP (Arts Leadership and…

The paper examines how the educational environment within the Australian Federal Police (AFP) has changed over their 25 year history. The case study was used as a methodological framework through which content analysis and interviews were conducted. It was found that due to the changing nature of their profession, the involvement of police…

There appears to be a paucity of research on mentoring senior leaders (Hobson & Sharp, 2005) and yet a growing interest in the development of leadership through experience (Abra "et al.," 2003; McCauley "et al.," 1998). This paper therefore presents and evaluates a case study of a pilot mentoring scheme and programme for…

The importance of continuing professional development (CPD) is increasingly recognised as an important contributor to school improvement. Successful CPD involves gaining the commitment of teachers to the process, and to sustaining and supporting their involvement in activities that are beneficial to both their professional growth and the…

Most training and educational professionals have focused their efforts on inculcating learning within individuals rather than within organizations. This is understandable, writes Forman, because so much needs to be accomplished to improve the efficacy of schools and corporate training programs. The notion of organizational learning has been…

Action research is defined as systematic classroom-based inquiry to solve teacher-perceived problems. It has been a component of education, particularly professional staff development, for the past century under several names although geography educators in the United States have rarely used it for this, or any other, purpose. This paper reviews…

This study examined to what degree the existing curricula, teaching practices, and assessments in 15 elementary physical education programs were aligned with the National Standards for Physical Education (NASPE, 1995) in the USA. Fifteen elementary physical education teachers voluntarily participated in this study. Data were gathered through…

This article explores the question of how engaging in teacher inquiry within the context of a school-university partnership influences teachers' use of technology to enhance student learning. While striving to meet the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) and performance indicators for teachers (Information Society for Technology in…