Reports on the certification qualifications for biology, chemistry, and physics teachers in Ohio. All teacher preparation institutions in the state are at or above the minimum state requirement in credit hours. Data indicate that low percentages (four to five percent) of Ohio teachers lack valid certificates for their science teaching assignments.…

Choosing the proper content for high school physics courses is not an easy task for the teacher or the school. Depth and breadth of coverage, student interests and background and teacher strengths may by considered. This paper provides help for teachers in choosing course content. Topics are: (1) scope of physics; (2) list of seven basic…

The diversity of the educational system of the United States that engenders a wealth of innovative ideas and varied practices also makes it an extremely complex system to confront and understand as a whole. This survey was undertaken to develop current baseline data on all secondary school teachers of physics in the United States, including those…

A methodological weakness of recent studies on teacher shortages is the degree to which respondents in these surveys were removed from the school environment, and consequently from science and mathematics teacher hiring. An attempt was made to resolve this problem by assessing Illinois public school principals (grades 6 to 12) on science and…

The teacher is one of the most important variables for maintaining or developing excellence in education. According to many surveys many teachers of high school physics earned their degrees in other fields. This paper deals with preservice and inservice high school physics teacher education. Topics include: (1) what physics teachers are expected…

This book contains the proceedings of the Third Topical Conference of Department Chairs in Physics. Topics of the papers summarized include: (1) research centers sponsored by the National Science Foundation; (2) physics programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels; (3) the use of accelerators in education and research; (4) approaches to…

This report summarizes the characteristics of physics education in 12 countries: Argentina; Brazil; Canada; Chile; Colombia; Costa Rica; Ecuador; Guatemala; Jamaica; Mexico; the United States; and Venezuela. An introductory chapter describes the goals of the Council on Inter-American Conferences on Physics Education, historical background,…

The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) developed this document as a resource for high school administrators, parents, and teachers who are interested in developing guidelines for physics curriculum and instruction in their school(s). These guidelines reflect the goals of the AAPT, with an emphasis on instructional strategies and…