This monograph provides a historical review of British and German influences on the development of American universities. The paper traces the foundations of modern universities to medieval institutions, such as the universities of Paris and Bologna, to such institutions as Oxford and Cambridge, and to German universities, which were founded as…

Essays argue that (1) unions can translate professional concerns into action; (2) unions need to concentrate more on the professional concern of improving education; and (3) only a national teachers union has the membership, staff, and strength to deal effectively with the multitude of concerns facing contemporary education. (MM)

Examines the effects of teachers' decision-making power on core educational issues involving conflict among teachers, students, and administrators. Discovers a positive relationship between increased teacher autonomy and decreased school conflict. Identifies and discusses several types of decisions made by teachers. (MJP)

Native American Studies has failed to develop into an academic discipline because of the continued influence of postcolonial theories, attempts to discredit Native American scholars, politically determined research agendas, and the ideology of the "New Historicism." Native American Studies must seek autonomy from other opportunistic…

This article examines effects of the 1988 Education Reform Act in the United Kingdom, especially the decline in participative decision making by teachers, increased centralization of control, and the introduction of a national curriculum. The paper also discusses the historical relationship between professional autonomy for teachers and control of…

Studies school-site administrators' understanding about ways of gaining/maintaining power, control, and predictability. Multisite study data concerning assistant principals identify rules of the game for four micropolitical (site-level assumptive world) domains. Assumptive worlds create avoidance of value conflicts and risky change, group-think…

Common sense proposals for school restructuring suggest promising directions, but issues of the content needed to give educational direction and show how to link the factors that influence this content must be addressed. An agenda of content for teacher commitment and competence is proposed. Problems of linkage are addressed. (SLD)

This study examined three districts that redesigned teaching, two with career ladders and one with shared governance. The reforms, both professional and bureaucratic, had important consequences for the process and outcomes of the redesign of teaching. Discrete organizational and political factors were identified. (TJH)

Interviews and observations of a first-grade mathematics class to determine the influence of Proposition 227 on limited-English-speaking students found that many initial fears about Proposition 227 were unfounded; student ability to cope was underestimated; teacher knowledge of Spanish and Latino culture was critical; and students' limited English…

Helping those teachers designated as Subject Induction Tutors in secondary schools who support Newly Qualified Teachers to become autonomous, self-reflecting practitioners has been the basis of a participatory action research project based at the University of Leicester. The first part of the paper explores the notion of professional autonomy in…

This article examines the impact of the "new professionalism" on the culture of professional development of science teachers. In the era of "new professionalism" there is an expectation that teachers will engage in professional development, but rather than encouraging an intrinsic desire to learn as professionals, it promotes…

This document contains texts for two resolutions adopted by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) in July 1998 regarding Beginning Reading Instruction and in July 2006, regarding Adolescent Literacy. A Question & Answer section follows the resolutions, addressing the following issues: (1) Reasons for focus on reading; (2) Differing views on…

This article analyzes CEE's and NCTE's current positions related to political action and highlights the increasing need for public intellectual and political activism as an integral part of organizational policy. Using Lakoff's (2005) concept of cognitive/linguistic framing in political discourse along with Kuchapski's (2002) characterizations of…

This report presents the goals and intentions of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) for the next 5 years. It describes the development of this plan, the place of NASFAA in environmental and historical contexts, and how the plan will be implemented and monitored. Goals for NASFAA activities include to: (1)…

This study examined the perceptions of African American faculty on their socialization to the academic professional culture, and is based on the premise that the process of such socialization is circumscribed by the organizational culture. Taking a qualitative research approach, the study used a three-part interview process. The focus of the first…