This paper outlines small scale research regarding mathematics anxiety and potential links to confidence and mathematics subject knowledge for primary teacher education (QTS) students in a HE institution, where the author is a Senior Lecturer in Primary Mathematics Education. The purpose is to establish the existence of such anxiety and related…

This issue of CPRE Policy Briefs summarizes the findings on issues related to teacher quality in the chapter authored by Thomas B. Corcoran in the book, "The State of Education Policy Research." The report also draws on discussions that took place during a 2006 policy briefing on teacher labor-market issues held in Chicago and sponsored by the…

The trend toward virtual learning for K-12 students has witnessed explosive growth across the country. As enrollment in virtual classes continues to grow and blended classrooms in particular become more commonplace, teachers able to adapt skills originally used in traditional classrooms--as well as develop new ones--will be a critically needed…

Over a 27-year teaching career in schools in North London and the Zambian bush I have relished the challenge of helping the disaffected or reluctant learner. Most of my teaching was in the area of business and vocational education, where learners have often been placed not through choice but because they were not seen as high enough achievers to…

The purpose of this study was to use a validated instrument to determine the attitudes and knowledge of high school teachers regarding food irradiation, and to determine the correlations among their knowledge and attitudes and certain demographic variables. Knowledge and attitudes about food irradiation were measured in selected high school family…

China's emergence in the global economy has captured the attention of U.S. policy makers, who have a vested interest in understanding how China has advanced so quickly. The Chinese government views education as a key to economic growth and has initiated several rounds of education reform since the late 1970s. To meet the demands of globalization,…

Background: Current education reform in the U.S. requires teacher preparation programs to educate the "teachers-to-be" according to the certification standards set forth by the state. So far, there are few empirical studies that directly investigate whether students perceive themselves to be well prepared with respect to the standards, although…

In order to enhance teachers' professional awareness, it is necessary to understand and value their subjective or personal knowledge and beliefs. This study investigated the change of science teachers' personal knowledge about teaching models and modeling in science within the context of educational reform in The Netherlands. The study followed…

This article explores the thinking of five junior high school teachers as they teach students with learning difficulties in inclusive classrooms. Insights into the ways these teachers think about students in these inclusive secondary school contexts were obtained through triangulating data from semistructured interviews, stimulated recall of…

This is the first in a series of issue briefs to be written for The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement during 2006. A longstanding tenet of American education--one built into the very fabric of teacher training and licensure--is that elementary teachers need only general teaching skills and that having a caring personality is…

We examined elementary school teachers' justifications to number- theoretical "for all" propositions and existence propositions, some of which are true while others are false. We also assessed whether teachers regarded their justifications as mathematical proofs. About half of the teachers produced formal algebraic proofs. A smaller number of…

We examined elementary school teachers' justifications to number- theoretical "for all" propositions and existence propositions, some of which are true while others are false. We also assessed whether teachers regarded their justifications as mathematical proofs. About half of the teachers produced formal algebraic proofs. A smaller number of…

This paper explains the investigative attempts of The New York City Math Exchange Group (MEG) on elementary mathematics teachers' content knowledge in Adult Basic Education (ABE). The study is comparative in nature and took place in a workshop at the Adults Learning Maths Conference in Boston. The new members of the MEG professional development…

This study was undertaken to better understand what happens when teachers implement a reform curriculum designed specifically to communicate mathematics content and pedagogy to teachers. More specifically, the study focuses on what aspects of the curriculum materials teachers consider as they decide what they will enact in the classroom.…

The percentage of high school students passing the first semester Algebra 1A final exam in January 2000 dropped precipitously from the passing rate one year earlier. That decline in final exam passing rates was due largely to the adoption among all schools of a uniform algebra exam combined with a system-wide uniform grading scale. High school…