Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the research literature on continuing professional development and School Improvement demonstrate that teachers who have the opportunity to develop "knowledge of practice" by integrating theory and practice have a positive impact on student attainment. It is argued in this article that we have…

This paper focuses on theory and practice in multicultural education as it pertains to the preparation of preservice teachers. The literature reviews the history and definition of multiculturalism and investigates multiple theoretical frameworks around the ongoing debate and issues of multicultural education. Teachers' perceptions of multicultural…

This study traces the reception history of Freeman and Johnson's (1998) widely cited article dedicated to theory and practices of second language teacher education (SLTE). It illuminates the degree to which that article has impacted SLTE theory, research, and potentially instructional practices. The reception study analysis is based on a data set…

Federal, State and school-based professional development has become a multi-million dollar educational enterprise in Australia. Yet there are no published models for the making of systems-level professional development policy. Reviewing the literature on the characteristics of effective professional development programs, this paper proposes a…

This article uses Andrew Abbott's concept of jurisdictional challenge to analyze the current challenges facing university-based teacher educators. The author suggests that teacher educators are dangerously close to losing jurisdiction over two key professional tasks--the preparation of new professionals and the production of academic knowledge for…

A process model for guiding explicit, systematic, and observable reflections on the state of gifted education is suggested, based on Ann Kerwin's Map of Ignorance. Use of the model is recommended for determining what is known and what is unknown in order to develop an agenda for future research and clarify practice and theory. (Author/PB)

There is a strong international interest in the enhancement of teaching quality. Enhancement is a big job because teaching is an extensive activity. It is a complex job because learning to teach is not, mainly, a formal process: non-formal, practice-based learning is more significant. These two points, extensiveness and practice-based learning,…

This article highlights major points of each of the articles in this special issue on the research to practice gap in special education. It then considers some broader implications, especially the need to foster and establish collegial networks to counter the isolation in which many teachers currently work. (Contains references.) (DB)

Focuses on teacher variables that account for the lack of initiation and continuation of research-based instructional strategies. Highlights teachers' overarching conceptions of teaching, subject-area knowledge, and sense of self-efficacy. Recommendations for promoting teacher self-efficacy are provided, including training teachers to deal with a…

This paper recognizes current interest in "the practical," particularly in research on teaching, and it explores similarities or distinctions between underlying conceptions of the practical across several programs, research projects, and scholarly reflections on teaching. Following an introduction, the paper reviews three research…

Suggests links from research to practice in key areas of inclusive early childhood education including teachers' knowledge base and beliefs, communication, physical environment, activities and materials, social interactions, and curriculum and instruction. (DB)

Educational foundations programs remain ill-defined despite generations of discussion. A review of the literature over the past three decades indicates that foundational studies are frequently subject to criticism and devaluation as irrelevant, serving no useful purpose, lacking a rigorous body of knowledge, and in general, poorly taught. Students…

Focuses on the challenges educators have encountered in translating comprehension-strategies instruction research into workable, school-based interventions and, ultimately, into classroom practice. Research indicates teachers worry about the feasibility, fit, and scope of comprehension-strategies instruction. The need for technical and conceptual…

Introduces a recursive-based developmental theory of multiple/multiethnic perspective-taking ability for teachers' developmentally and culturally congruent pedagogy: a way to understand and facilitate growth in teachers' interpersonal pedagogical coordination for developmentally and culturally congruent teaching as "teaching for all…