Research shows that in small schools students have better attendance and higher test scores, participate in more activities, are less violent, and feel more connected to their schools; teachers form closer bonds with students and are more innovative; and parents are more involved. Three models are examined: small schools, schools within a school,…

Interviews with nine principals of Hong Kong schools found that faced with uncertainties arising from Hong Kong's political transition, principals were somewhat confident about coping with changes in curricula and school management but felt less control over broader changes in access and opportunity following the expected influx of teachers and…

This special issue presents commissioned papers and responses to them from the American Society of Allied Health Professions Critical Issues Conference on independent practice and its implications for policy, medical care, and professional autonomy. Authors are Havighurst, Hershey, Gillespie, Cronin, Jones, Ramsey, Thomas, McTernan, Burian,…

The authors argue that stability and change are in a dialectical relationship in the schools. The voices of stability, policymakers, administrators, and some teacher educators, focus on products of education; but the voices of teachers, heard throughout the book, call out for change and recognition of the hardships of teaching. (SLD)

This study examined the relationships between teacher autonomy and certain attitudinal and work-related variables. Public school teachers completed the Survey of Teacher Characteristics and Activities. Autonomous teachers were more satisfied with their profession, perceived a lighter paperwork load, had a more positive attitude toward students,…

If school choice options take place in school systems across the country, challenging opportunities may exist for the teaching profession. Analyzes the development of school choice plans by teachers and examines the impact of this process on the professionalization of teachers. Describes gains in teacher involvement, decision making, and autonomy.…

A survey of 300 college faculty across disciplines suggested that many faculty encounter conditions that hinder collegiality concerning undergraduate teaching issues. These difficulties include faculty isolation and fragmented communication, constrained resources, and inappropriate evaluation and reward systems. Results also suggest ways in which…

The problem with standardized testing is that it is standardized. Different learners learn differently, different teachers teach differently, and different teacher-learner combinations work differently at different times and in different ways. Standardized tests must be abandoned in favor of methods of creative evaluation that address the needs of…

A classroom teacher asked two colleagues in his district to keep a daily record of their aims, methods, materials, and great discussions in two courses each: one state-tested, the other an untested elective course with no state curriculum. Each week during the study, the teacher reviewed these logs with his colleagues in separate interviews. Data…

The National Primary Strategy (DfES, 2004) is encouraging schools to design "broad and rich curricula" which make the most of links between different areas, building on literacy and numeracy and developing speaking and listening skills. Primary teachers' confidence with, and understanding of, science will be crucial to the effectiveness…

The winds of decentralizing reform that have been driving their way through various government education systems across the globe over the best part of two decades have generated a great deal of conflict. In the late 1990s those working in the Western Australian government high school in which I conducted the research reported here found…

Is academic freedom an issue in British universities? It should be because there is no legal protection guaranteeing academic freedom. Individuals have some direct statutory references but nothing of substance that actually provides a definitive statement. There are a variety of statutory provisions dealing with what may appear to be aspects of…

As an increasing number of schools undertake restructuring efforts, an instrument to measure teacher empowerment would be a useful took for researchers and evaluators. Such an instrument was used in a census survey of 10,544 teachers in 307 Venture Capital Schools in Ohio to obtain baseline measures of classroom teachers' participation in school…

Educational supervision has historically sought to improve the quality of teaching. This book is a text for undergraduate and graduate students who are engaged in the study of issues in educational supervision; it is a compendium of informed commentaries on current issues written by prominent scholars in the field. The first part (12 chapters)…

The Chicago (Illinois) School Reform Act was signed into law in 1988 and the Reform School Board of Trustees was appointed in July 1995. There have been several reports of teachers' opinions about the Reform Act, but the opinions of teachers about the Reform School Board have not been studied. Almost half of teachers have reported at least some…